Chronicles of a Forsaken One
by Sombra
Summary: It's not a question of destiny. Destiny does not control your life any more than it controls my life.Those were his words.I remember the first time he said this to me. Death is the end of life for most, but for me, it was a change of pace. Post Adventure 02, with a more mature theme.This is my first fic, so please enjoy, I'm putting a few things on hold to finish.
1. Painful Memories

AN: This is the first fic I've decided to post here. Check it out if you want. Review it if you want, if not, that's ok, doesn't really matter. It's just something I have to write. The time line is as accurate as I can interpret it. Peace. The Writer.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Digimon logo or any of the characters pertaining to the series. I only own the "original" story line, the original characters and anything else out of the ordinary. The Writer.

Chronicles of a Forsaken One

"Session 1" -Painful Memories-

_August 27, 2004…._

"The flow of life continues"

He caught her off guard but he was sure she had heard him, they were both sitting on a park bench, watching the children play. They were both dressed completely in black suits with white shirts, black monochrome ties and government-style shades. Their features were strikingly familiar, silver hair, fair skinned and young. Anyone could have easily mistaken them for siblings. They were out of place, as opposed to the caring mothers and fathers who were at the park with their younger children. The park was a park like any other, surrounded by apartment buildings in nearly all directions.

"That's an odd thing to say" she replied

"Why do you say that?"

"Technically, we're not even alive"

"Only technically" he replied, as he focused on a pair of kids playing in the park. In the distance, he could observe a young boy with brown, spiky hair that shot out everywhere. At his side there was a young girl with wild orange hair. It was a very familiar scene.

"I don't feel alive" she said out of nowhere

"Of course you don't, we don't feel, remember?"

"I try not to" she replied

"Look at that" he said, changing the conversation

"At what?"

"That, over there"

"That looks familiar"

"Yeah" he replied as he took out a stick of gum from his jacket pocket and began to chew it furiously.

"Trying to quit?"

"You know I am..." he replied as he continued to chew

She smirked.

He shot a look at her.

"What?" he asked, with a grin on his face

"I've never seen you quit anything"

"I'm no good at quitting"

"I know" she said very smugly

He spit the gum out of his mouth and as it landed on the ground, he took out an old, worn out Zippo. He opened and lit it up in one smooth motion; clearly he had practice at this. He reached once again into his jacket pocket to pull out an old carton of cigarettes.

She smirked again.

He caught it.

"Why do you do that?" she asked

"Do what?"

"_That_…flick your lighter on and then take out the cigarette?"

"What do you mean?"

"Most people I know do it the other way around"

"I'm not 'most people you know' " he responded without once taking his eyes off the flame.

"Come on, tell me" she said

"I don't need a reason, I just do" he responded, without taking his eyes off the flame

"You're in a trance"

"I'm not"

"You are"

"I'm not"

"You are"

He sighed, he was clearly exasperated. She grinned. He caught it.

"So...are you gonna tell me?"

"No"

"You have a reason for doing it like that" she stated

"It's just something I do, there's no rational answer to it" he responded, not taking his eyes off the flame.

"You are the personification of reason"

"It's a habit of mine, that's all" he responded. He took out a cigarette with his free hand, without once taking his eyes off the flame. He liked the flame. He placed it in his mouth and moved the lighter closer to him, he was shaking; he needed the nicotine bad.

"Hey, look" she said

His head turned, the cigarette missing the flame by a few centimeters.

"What?" he asked

"Soccer ball"

"Ok"

They looked up to see, a few feet in the distance, stood the children they had been watching, the boy with the spiky hair, with the red-haired girl right behind him, hanging onto his shoulders. She smelled like fear.

"Excuse me, miss?" said the little girl from behind the young boy.

She focused her gaze on them both now. They were about 8 or 9 years old. She knew that.

"Yes?" she responded

"Can we get our ball back?" she asked

"This is your ball?" he asked, he was curious as to which one of them would answer.

"Yeah, actually it's _our ball_" said the boy

They stood there. The kids said nothing. The strangers in black were silent as well.

He turned around to look at her, never once taking his eyes off the kids.

He nodded.

She tossed the ball at the kids.

He turned his lighter off and then flicked it back on with the same, smooth motion. Again, he moved it close to his face.

"You know, smoking is bad for you"

He looked up again and saw the boy with a huge grin on his face. The little girl was now holding the ball.

"Who told you that?" he asked

"My mom" he responded proudly, putting his arms on his waist. The little girl smirked at his actions

"Your mom?" he asked again

"Yup"

He sighed.

"Good advice" he responded "you know you should never smoke, right kids?"

"Yup" they both said at the same time

He turned the lighter off. Clearly he wasn't about to smoke in front of the kids. He grabbed the cigarette from his mouth and stashed it into his coat jacket again. He would smoke it later.

"You wanna play with us?" asked the girl with a smile on her face. He couldn't tell whether it was genuine or not. That's why he didn't like kids. It was harder to read them than adults. Adults have a more clear intention of what they want. Kids are a mystery. They have no intention, no desire in the grand scheme of things.

He turned to look at his companion.

She did the same.

He looked at his watch. It read 2.40 p.m.

"Ok" he responded "but only for a little while"

The strangers stood up and took off their suit jackets, placing them neatly folded on the bench. They loosened their ties and followed the children. They began to kick the ball around forming an odd square. First to the young boy, then to the young man, then he would kick it to his companion, then she would dribble it to the red-head, and the cycle would repeat itself. They would vary their little tricks, sometimes maintaining the ball up in the air or using their head. The young man would make a lot of mistakes, the others would laugh, he would smile, clearly, it had been awhile. As he continued to play with the kids, an image flashed through his head

'_...2.55 p.m...'_

He stopped juggling the ball and it hit the ground.

"What's wrong?" asked his companion

He glanced at his watch. '2.55 p.m', just like the image in his head.

"We have to go" he said coldly.

"Why?" asked the spiky hair boy

"Those are the breaks, I'm afraid" responded the young woman.

He picked up the ball and gave it to the boy's companion. They began walking back to the bench. Their coats, still neatly folded, awaited the return of their owners. They grabbed their respective jackets and made their way to the sidewalk.

"Good bye" said the little girl.

The young lady turned around and waved good bye at them.

They walked side by side, silently for a while; she looked at her wristwatch, a fancy, futuristic looking Bvlgari. She decided to break the silence,

"Are you nervous?"

He turned his head to look at her. His stare lingered a little too long.

"Ok, bad question" she said

"No, it's an excellent question" he said and continued his little saunter

"So?"

"So?"

"Are you going to tell me?"

"No"

"No?"

"No" he repeated, with a smile on his face

"It isn't fair, you know, I can't read you as well as you can read me"

"Those are the breaks" he said, still smiling.

She grunted or made a sound, he wasn't really sure what she had done.

"Yes"

"Yes, what?" she said.

"Whenever I have to end a life, I get nervous"

"End a life?" she asked

"You know what I mean"

"Nervous isn't exactly the word I would use to describe you"

"I know" he said, once again with a smile on his face

"So, you get nervous whenever you have to end a life?"

"Yes" he answered calmly "Taking a life, however, well, that's another story..."

"...For another time, I'm sure" she said completing his sentence

They both smiled and continued to walk, this time a little slower than those around them.

"He's not strong enough, you know" he said out of the blue

"He's the strongest"

"I know" he replied

"He has all the qualities we desire, everything that makes him worth saving"

"That's the definition of irony"

"I know" she said, smiling

"See, that I don't understand" she said

"What don't you understand?" he said

"He's the strongest, he matches the profile, yet I get a feeling you're against this" she responded

"I am against this"

"Why?"

"He has motivation, he has a reason, he still thinks he can survive"

"He's a mortal fool, just like the rest of them" she said

"You know, it's only at the moment of death when people realize that they are going to die"

"I know" she said

"Human beings are so full of hope, they think they are so special"

She nodded and allowed him to continue,

"It is only once they realize that their pitiful and meaningless existence has been for nothing that they lose hope" he said "It is once they understand that there is no one out there to save them, this moment, that is the culmination of their lives, the understanding that they never made a difference, the comprehension that they will never be remembered and the choice: that is all that matters, the choice, once made, the decision cannot be reversed. That is the nature of humanity"

"Emptiness?"

"No, it is the search for a purpose and the understanding...that they have none"

"We have a purpose" she said

"We are not human" he responded

"I know that"

With these words spoken the conversation ended once again and they continued walking endlessly down the road.

"Why do you think he's still alive?" she asked out of nowhere

"Honestly?"

"Honestly"

"I have no idea" he said serenely.

"No speculations?"

"No speculations"

"He should be dead" she said.

"I know"

"He's not"

"I know"

"Well?" she asked

"Maybe he's happy, maybe he hasn't hit the wall yet"

"He's out of time"

He sighed.

"Ask Richard why, not me"

"He doesn't know"

"He knows everything" he said

"Not this" she replied with a smile on his face

"He'll hit the wall, he'll see the futility in his life. He knows of his future. All we need is the acceptance of said future and the desire" he said, as if to answer her question

"Desire?"

"Yes, desire" he said

"Desire for what?" she asked

"Change" he responded

"Look" she said, and eyed their subjects

"There they are" he acknowledged

"Should we follow them?"

"There's no reason to do that" he said "We know where they live and we know how to find them"

She looked at them, they looked sickly in appearance, their spirits down, their hope dwindling, their light slowly dying...

"We must look pretty weird to them" she said again

"How do you know they've noticed us?"

"Gut feeling" she replied

He smiled.

"Yeah, I think we are weird, after all, humans fear what they don't understand" he said

She nodded, agreeing with him.

"He'll have his epiphany when the time is right"

"It better be soon, for his sake" she said

"Let's keep going, we have to get home"

"What home?"

"Right" he said, realizing the mistake he had just made.

They continued to walk and soon, their subjects had disappeared from their view...

Across the streets from our mysterious strangers, were the digi-destined of light and hope, just walking down the street from another day in school. The sky was ablaze in orange embers, and traffic was light around this part of the neighborhood. They walked silently, each listening to the sounds that their shoes made as they hit the sidewalk.

"So, how is he?"

"What do you mean, 'how is he?'" she asked

"You know what I mean"

"He's not dead, if that's what you're asking"

"Don't do this"

"Do what?"

"I just want to talk"

"So talk"

"Are you going to talk back?" he asked, aware of the coming answer

"No" she said frigidly.

He continued to walk alongside her, in the silence, thinking.

She sighed.

"I'm sorry, TK, you didn't deserve that" she said

"It's ok, I mean, it's been so hard for all of us"

"Yeah" she said

"I know that there is no way I can understand what you're going through"

She turned to look at him as he spoke,

"We all need someone to lean on"

"That...was so lame, TK" she said giggling

He smiled. At least, he had made her smiled. She hadn't smiled like that in a long time.

"Just talk to me please"

She nodded.

"There's nothing to say, T.K. My brother is ill and there's nothing I can do"

"Do you have any sort of hope that he will get better? That the drugs will work?" he asked, but immediately regretted.

She walked silently for a while, then said,

"Hope is your department, T.K, not mine"

"I see" he said dejectedly.

"I can still remember it" she went on "It seems like such a long time ago, but I remember that day. The day we went to the doctor. My brother was so scared. He thought he was finally going crazy. In a way, that would have been a relief"

"A relief?" asked T.K

"It isn't fair, T.K. Why him?" she said, turning around to face him.

"I don't know, Kar. I don't know"

"Thousands of people have died from this, and no one knows why"

"We have to believe that the upcoming medical trials will work. We can't give up hope. You think your brother's given up?" he told her.

"I know he has…he gave up a long time ago"

With this final outburst, they continued walking, this time in silence.

'_Kari, what's happened to you? Where's your optimism, your spirit? Has it really gone away like the others, please believe, believe and it will happen. I know it's a lot to ask, but I know you can. You'__ll see; things will get better'._

How he yearned to speak these words to her. It was hopeless, though. He knew that. She had given up too. "Hope is your department", that's what she'd told him just moments ago. He continued to walk, occasionally stealing a peek at her face. He remembered the way she was just a few years ago. She was loving, kind, and caring. She was still all those great things, inside. She was about to be stripped from the one thing she cared most about and all he could do was watch.

He remembered the day he was told just exactly what Tai's ailment was. If one could call it that. It's more of a cosmic joke really, a complete degradation of the mind. A never-ending vision, a distortion of reality. There was no way to describe it. No way to diagnose it. No way to stop it. Six months, that was the life expectancy of the patient, if he/she made it to the end. Some visions, some nightmares were so vivid, the patients ended up committing suicide. Then there were the voices; "like a train station full of people in your head", that's what Tai once said about them. Regular medications did nothing to appease them. The patients would go weeks without sleeping with no apparent symptoms. This had most doctors and researchers baffled. The loss of perception greatly affected the patients; they could no longer speak, nor recognize their loved ones. The increases in creativity, intelligence, and strength also had no evident explanations. After the 4th month, the weak electromagnetic pulse created by the body went haywire, interfering with the electronic equipment at most hospitals. It interfered with everything, even light. That didn't seem to matter to most patients, though. They preferred the dark. At 5th month, they underwent drastic changes in their appearance. Their hair became white for no apparent reason, their skin tone changed drastically, resulting in most patients becoming a ghostly shade of white. Their skin became hypersensitive to touch and light. All of these changes occurred to the poor miserable souls who entered the 5th month. There was no way to comfort them. Of course, these were just the most obvious symptoms, this "disease" affected ever patient differently, so there was no way to attack it effectively.

He ceased to swim in his sea of thoughts and realized they were nearly at Kari's place. He stole another look. She looked the same, troubled, tired, and overall, depressed.

"Do you want to know something" she said out of nowhere.

"What?"

"It's our fault"

"What?!"

"That's what he told me the other day. It was our fault. We went into the digital world. We brought this curse onto the world. We're responsible" she said.

"You can't really believe that, Kari" he said.

"I don't know what to believe anymore, T.K"

"The first person to die from this was a boy, Kari, an 8-year old boy, named…"

"…James Carver" she said, cutting him off. "I know, that's why it's called _JCS_"

"He died in '96, Kar. That was years before we were ever went in" said T.K.

"It's not our fault" he told her

"We don't really know that"

"It's not!" said T.K, startling her,

"Say it with me" he told her

"It's not our fault" they said in unison.

"Good" he told her, "I hope you believe it"

She said nothing to this. They had already reach her place.

"T.K?"

"Yes, Kari?"

"Thank you for trying to cheer me up"

"It's what I do" he said with a smile.

She smiled too.

"See you tomorrow, T.K"

"Tomorrow, Kari"

With this, she went up. He would have followed her, but he knew she had her brother to attend to. It's been months since he was alone with her, truly alone. Her brother was always in her mind now. He went his own way now, headed for home. As he walked, he felt the cold chill associated with danger, with death. He turned around and looked at his surroundings. Not a soul to be found. That was odd, he had the strangest feeling he was being followed. Nevertheless, he went on home…

AN: That's the first session for you. There'll be more, whether you review or not. Any constructive criticism is appreciated, but it's not required. The story goes on, anyway, I'll update as soon as I finish the second session. Till then, The Writer.


	2. Reality

AN: So I'm back. I should have updated sooner but I've been busy. The chapter was a bit long, so I had to splice it in two. Please enjoy Part 1. Whether you review or not is up to you. Feedback is greatly appreciated though.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Digimon logo or any of the characters pertaining to the series. I only own the "original" story line, the original characters and anything else out of the ordinary. The Writer.

Chronicles of a Forsaken one

"_Session 2" –Reality-_

_Part 1_

_August 28, 2004_

**The following day began just like any other, except it wasn't just any other day.** Today was different. She knew that. She could somehow sense that as she ate her breakfast. She usually watched the news as she ate. Not today. Today was different. She knew that. She wondered what he was doing in there. She didn't really venture into his room that much. She wondered whether the upcoming medical trials would work. She wasn't too optimistic about the whole thing. Not after 03. The more she thought about what Tai said, the more it made sense to her.

'We brought this curse into the world'

She remembered his face as he said that. He was serene. He was calm and collected. He no longer experienced ups and downs like the others. She was beginning to worry about that. That could only mean that his time was running out. A loss of emotions…that scared her…a lot.

'_It's ridiculous, we couldn't have done this. T.K's right. That was just Tai and his delusions'_

Too bad she didn't really believe that.

She knew Tai was right.

Suddenly, she heard the intricate unlocking mechanism of a door. Not just any door. Tai's door. She sprinted out of her chair and into action. She dimmed the lights and closed the drapes. She quickly returned to her breakfast again .His door opened and out he appeared. He was fully covered from head to toe. His face wrapped in bandages, his hands covered in gloves. Not a single piece of skin was showing. His eyes were hidden behind his large Aviator sunglasses. He walked towards Kari. She said nothing, just stared at him, in total disbelief. He opened the refrigerator, removed a bottle of juice and began to drink it.

"Tai…" she whispered, her voice wavering.

He said nothing. He didn't really speak unless it was absolutely necessary.

"You can't be awake, Tai" she said "This is not good for you. You need your rest, please go back to sleep, please"

"I have to eat" he said, with a whisper.

"Here, take my plate" she said "Just please, don't do this to yourself"

He stared at her as she began to sob.

"Please" she whispered, between sobs "Please"

"It's ok" he said, again whispering. He went to her and embraced her. She felt cold. It wasn't her though. He knew that. It was him, he could no longer enjoy her warm embrace. He could no longer feel her touch. He was cold. He knew that.

"Kari" he whispered in her ear.

"What?" she said softly.

"It's ok…I'm going to be alright. You'll see" he said.

'_You don't really believe that'_

"I need you to do something for me" he said, still whispering

"What?"

"I need you to go out and forget about me, just for a few hours, clear your head"

"I can't"

"Please" he said.

She sighed.

"T.K will be here soon" he said "I feel tired. I will go back to my room and rest"

He grabbed her bowl and its spoon.

"I'm taking your food too, is that ok?" he asked

She nodded.

He went back to his room, cereal in hand. She stood there, wiping her tears. She re-opened the drapes and turned the lights up again. She sat at the table where she had been eating her breakfast. All she could do was wait. She didn't want to wait. She thought about the others. She never really discussed anything like this with them, she had to be strong, that was Tai's wish. She had to be strong…for them…for T.K…for her parents…for Tai.

He was strolling down the street, heading for her apartment. He had been thinking about what he had said yesterday. He had mixed emotions about the whole incident. He wasn't supposed to speak to her like that. He knew that. He reached her building and pressed the buzzer.

She heard the buzzer ring with its incredibly annoying tone. She hesitated at first, but eventually, she got up to the intercom and pressed the button, allowing him to come up. She walked back to the refrigerator and served herself a glass of orange juice. She sat down on the couch and took a sip. She heard a knock on the door, a distinctive pattern that identified T.K. She got up and opened the door, slowly…

"Hey" he said dimly

"Hi" she replied back in the same tone.

She had been crying. He knew that.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"He was awake, T.K" she answered

"What's wrong with that?"

"It was a shock to see him like that, in bandages"

"He needs those, you know that"

She nodded.

"Come on, let's go do something" she said

"Like what?" he said as he opened the can.

"Anything, I want to go clear my head, have some fun"

"What about Tai?"

"Tai's fine, he told me so himself, he said he was gonna get some practice in"

"He's really taken a shine to my guitar. Is he ever gonna give it back?" said T.K

"Maybe you should ask him later" she replied as she put on her shoes. T.K was sprawled on the couch.

"What do you mean?"

"He wants to talks to us later"

"You and me?" asked T.K

"Relax T.K, Tai is totally O.K. with us, you know that, he wants to talk with Matt too."

T.K went to the refrigerator, and poured himself some juice.

"I wonder why?"

"I don't know why, T.K, but we're going to find out, he wants us there too"

Kari, all ready to go, stood up.

T.K went towards the kitchen sink, finished his juice and rinsed out the glass. He left it there and grabbed his hat from the couch. The two went out hand in hand, and as Kari was closing up the place, she heard the distinctive sound of a blues guitar ring out through the apartment…

_Later on in the day…_

He strolled through the park, swimming in a sea of thoughts, he stared at the crowds of children and young adults alike. They were all here to see the concert. A concert with the profits going towards JCS research,

'_This is going to work. It has to work'_

"Ladies and gentleman,…" announced the stage hand "Thank you for your patience…I present you with…Wasabi!!"

As if obeying his commands, the band began to play their mellowy, fuzzy style of rock. He began to lose himself in the music, completely unaware of those around him, those around him completely unaware that local rock star Matt Ishida was amongst them. He became aware of the time; soon he'd have to head for the tennis arena. He wasn't about to miss this match, no; he promised he'd be there. He entertained the notion of climbing onto that stage and playing with the band. He couldn't though. If he did such a thing, he'd never get off that stage. Not in time for the match. Ever since he found out about Tai, he hadn't been able to play nor write any new songs. He was forced to retire from his ongoing tour. He explained his situation to his band members; that had been the end of it. The Teenage Wolves were unofficially separated. He didn't even bother announcing it, he didn't care anymore. His former band members began to look for a new singer, a new bass player. He didn't stop them. He didn't want to. To him, that part of his life was over.

"Hello…Mr. Ishida"

He quickly turned around to see a young man, about his age, dressed in causal clothing, standing beside him. He wore a white Panama hat, a white short sleeved shirt, open, with a light brown T-shirt underneath; he had on khaki cargo pants, and brown Converse All-Stars. He looked as if he just stepped off a beach. Matt took all this in, before he snapped back to reality.

"Do I know you?" he asked cautiously.

"We have a mutual friend" the man reassured him; his voice, calm and serene.

"We do?"

"Taichi always spoke of you in such high regard; I thought I'd try to meet you before I went back" he stated once again.

"You know Tai?"

"I knew Tai…a long time ago…"

"Why are you here?"

"Kari gave me a call, she said Tai had requested to see me, told me the whole story"

"So you know…" Matt said, not really questioning him, it was more of a blank statement.

"Yes" he said; his tone of voice, a now stern one.

"As soon as she finished, I hopped on the first plane available" the man continued "I knew I had to be here. I should be here. This will be hard…on all of us…"

Matt nodded, not really thinking about anything.

"I'm sorry…I barely realized that…I haven't introduce myself. My name is John Marshall"

"Mr. Marshall, I remember vaguely, Taichi speaking about you. Of course that was a long time ago, I haven't spoken to Tai for a while now, it's been 2 months since I last saw him"

"I spoke to Tai today"

"You spoke to him, he was awake?" Matt asked, with a desire to know.

"Yes"

"What did he say?"

"We spoke of the past, when life was grand"

"I see" said Matt, nodding.

"He spoke of you…he told me I should try to find you…to talk to you. He's worried about you"

"He's worried about me?"

"He heard about what happened to your band. He wants to talk with you"

"I'm supposed to see him tonight. I don't know why, but I'm feeling very anxious about the whole thing" stated Matt "By the way, how did you find me?"

"I have a knack for finding people. My father is a private investigator. He taught me the ropes very well" replied Marshall.

"But how did you know I'd be here? I didn't tell anyone" said Matt.

"Does it really matter, Matt?"

"I guess not…"

"I know why you're here, Mr. Ishida" stated Marshall, out of the blue.

"Really?" asked a skeptical Matt.

"From what Tai has told me, I can easily deduce that you are a sane, responsible man. That your view of the world is very realistic, and while your friends expend their energy thinking idealistic thoughts, you have accepted reality"

"What is reality?" asked Matt

Marshall lowered his voice, nearly whispering, despite the fact that a concert was blasting at full power. Matt listened intently as he spoke,

"That no matter what you tell yourself, to convince yourself of an alternate future, you know what's going to happen. You know. But you won't show it. You won't. You can't. Because of them. Because of Kari, because of T.K. You'll have to be strong. When they break, they'll have to lean on you"

"We lose everything we have, Mr. Ishida" Marshall added.

"What do you know about loss?" spat Matt at him.

"Plenty, I'm afraid. I lost my sister to the same beast that will consume our friend" replied Marshall serenely.

Matt's expression changed, drastically. He'd realized he knew nothing about Marshall. He couldn't question him like that. It was foolish and immature, but at the same time, it felt justified. Marshall had no right to lecture him. Deep inside him though, he felt Marshall was trying to help him, this in turn made him feel bad.

"I'm sorry" said Matt

"That's OK" said Marshall "I know you are"

They stay silent, despite the fact that the concert was still going, he couldn't hear it.

"What if I can't?" asked Matt "What if I fail?"

"Then you fail" replied Marshall

"Just like that?" asked Matt

"Just like that" said Marshall

"Does Tai know about your sister?" asked Matt

"Does it matter?"

"No, it doesn't"

"We are all soldiers…trapped in the battle that is life. We have to learn to accept life as it comes, to move on. It will not be easy, but it will be done, in time. Taichi was the last of the friends that I had in my past life, a life that I'll have to learn to forget. But I had to come. To pay tribute to an old soldier, and a dear friend. Good bye for now, Mr. Ishida" said Marshall as he began to walk away.

"Is there any way I can reach you, John?" asked Matt

"No, there isn't" said Marshall as he disappeared into the crowd leaving Matt alone, figuratively speaking.

He looked at his watch. It was getting late. He'd have to leave soon, if he wanted to catch Sora's match. He began to walk towards the street, leaving the masses that occupied the park where the concert was being held. As he walked he thought

'_Marshall's right. I have to be strong, for them. I just hope I can. I can't fail; I don't have the luxury of failure, not this time…'_

As he arrived at the tennis courts, he saw exactly what he expected to see. The crowds were lining up at the ticket windows, some, apparently expecting to find tickets at this late an hour, no, he'd been smart. He'd purchased his own ticket a few days back, it seems that the finals of this tournament had brought out the best in people. Why not? Everyone these days seemed to be fighting the good fight. The fatalities that JCS was causing world-wide had moved the entire medical community into action. Millions of dollars had been invested in finding a vaccine, or a cure, with no success. Hundreds of musicians around the world played sold-out concerts and donated their profits towards the cause. All with no success. The trials of 2003 and its horrendous results had more than convinced the community that the fight wasn't over yet. The mutations of the disease made it difficult to create a cure. A vaccine was impossible to create since there were absolutely no survivors. He finally got inside after waiting in line for 15 minutes; he hardly felt the time pass. He was already late, he was supposed to meet with the others a half an hour ago, but his encounter with Marshall had left him startled. For the first time in this entire ordeal he was beginning to feel scared. Marshall was right. He turned a corner and saw T.K and Kari standing in the hallway waiting for him. The others were nowhere to be seen. Kari spotted him, and amongst the crowds, she waved at him. He caught it and headed their way.

"You're finally here, Matt" said T.K

"Didn't think you were going to make it" said Kari

"I got held up" he said

"Traffic?" asked Kari

"No, something else, it's not important" he replied

"Where are the others?" he asked, in an effort to change the conversation.

Kari caught this and answered,

"Buying refreshments, Matt"

"Sora's been calling me for the last half hour. She wants to talk" said T.K and continued, "She says your phone's turned off and that she can't reach you"

"What? That's not right" he answered and took out his phone, it was on, and fully charged.

"So…where did you go this morning?" asked T.K

"The concert" said Matt "You guys were supposed to meet me there, why didn't you show up?"

He looked at the two, who in turned, exchanged glances.

"I…Don't…you know what? Guys, don't tell me…I don't…I don't want to know" he said

"Matt!! It wasn't like that" said Kari

"Matt!!" someone said

He turned around to see Davis, Yolei and Ken carrying a ton of snacks and headed in their direction.

"Hey guys, don't you think that you're overdoing a bit?" said Matt

"Of course not, we need all these" said Davis

"Ummm…ok, so all we're really doing now is waiting for Izzy" said Matt

"Actually, I'm right here" said Izzy, standing behind Matt.

"Izzy, where you been?" said Davis

"Bathroom" he responded

"Guys, can we just go to our seats already?" asked Ken

Matt smiled and nodded, they followed Kari as she knew where the seats were. They went towards the inside of the stadium towards their seats. As they reached their seats, Matt noticed there was a man seated right beside them.

"Mr. Ishida, it seems we meet again"

"Are you stalking me, John?" he asked as the others took their respective seats, leaving Matt to seat next to John.

"I was here first, so technically you're stalking me" he said as he smiled

"Right" said Matt

"John, I haven't seen you in ages, how've you been?" said Kari who was sitting beside T.K, who was sitting besides Matt.

"I've been around, Kari"

"I didn't even know you were back in town"

"Yeah, I came back for a while, I spoke with your brother today" he said

"Oh" she said "So you know?"

"Yeah, but…I'm not too worried" he replied

She nodded her head, not really knowing what to say.

"Excuse me guys" said Matt

"Hey, where are you going now?" asked T.K

"Gotta call Sora, remember?"

"Oh yeah"

"Be right back" he said

"Take your time, Mr. Ishida" said John as he continued to talk with Kari and T.K

He left the group, went down the steps and into the hallway from before. He found an empty spot and took out his phone. Dialed the number. Waited for a response. No answer. He dialed again, this time, a feminine voice answered. It was Sora.

"Sora"

"Matt!! I've been calling you all morning, why haven't you answered your phone?"

"I think there's something wrong with my phone, I've had it on all morning, you should have been able to reach me"

"It doesn't matter now" she said

"So…what's up, babe?"

"I need some words of encouragement, Matt"

"What can I say? You've got this beat, um…hands down-"

"-No, Matt, I'm…scared…"

"Scared of her?"

"What Kari told me last night" she replied

"Ohh" said Matt and continued, "I see"

"What if…I don't know…what if it's something bad?"

"Sora, I-"

"-I didn't sleep last night"

"Sora, I think you're over thinking this" replied Matt, "I'm sure it's not bad"

"That's what my dad said"

"I didn't know your dad was back in town"

"Yeah, he is, he told me the same thing, that I was over thinking it and whatever Tai had to tell us was a good thing. I didn't believe it though"

"So, your mom and your dad?" asked Matt, trying to change the subject.

"My mom says it's going to be hard, but things will work out, eventually"

"I'm glad" said Matt

"So am I, my dad's working locally now, so yeah, things are OK"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure" she replied

"Listen, Sora, you can't be thinking about this now, whatever happens later on, you have to focus on your match, you have to beat her, for Tai"

"You're right, I can't worry about this, whatever happens…happens, right?"

"Yeah, I'll let you go now, OK?" said Matt

"OK"

"Bye, love"

"Bye" she said and hung up.

He placed the phone back on its clip and went back to his seat. He found them in the midst of an argument.

"Dude, I don't know where you've been, but there's no way Sora's going to lose" said T.K

"I'm just saying" said John, "it could go either way"

"Sora is the regional champion. She has the advantage" said Ken

"Matt, what do you think?" said Kari

"John's right. It could go either way, but Ken also has a point. My money's on Sora"

"Care to put that in literal terms?" said John slyly.

"You mean a bet?"

"Yeah, why not?" asked John

"I don't know about this, Matt, what if Sora finds out about this?" asked Yolei

"Put me down for 2500 yen" said Davis as he took out his cash, "oh, on Sora"

"Alright" said John "what about you, Ken?"

"What about me?"

"You said it yourself; the odds are in Sora's favor. You know what they say, a fool and his money are soon departed"

"They do say that" said Ken

"Ken!!" said Yolei

"Relax Yolei, this isn't a wager, it's an investment on Sora. We know she's going to win" he replied

"I'm in" added Ken

"Same wager?" asked John

"Same wager" he replied

"I don't understand" said Izzy, out of nowhere "why are you so sure Sora's gonna lose?"

"I didn't say that"

"Then why wager against her?"

"Gambler's feeling is all" he answered

"So what would happen if we all wagered in her favor?" Izzy asked

"Yeah" chimed in Davis, "you got enough cash to cover all of us?"

"I figure it's comes out to about 18,000 yen, yeah" answered John

"Hmph, I'm gonna call your bluff, write me down" said Izzy

"Izzy's right, we gotta support Sora, put me down too" said T.K

"Me too" said Kari

"I guess if you're all doing it, I might as well" said Yolei

"It's just like Ken said" said Davis "it's an, what'd you call it?"

"An investment, Davis" replied Ken

"Yeah, an investment, Sora's gonna win for sure"

"If you guys say so, I'm in" said Yolei

"Alright, well that only leaves you, Matt" said John

"I'll do you one better, I'll give you 2-to-1 odds" said Matt, "provided you give us the same"

"You believe that strongly in your girlfriend?" asked John quickly

"Never let me down before" answered Matt smugly

John nodded, as if he understood what Matt meant.

"There's a first time for everything" he said, still nodding

"I think John's regretting the bet he just made" said Davis as the others laughed

John laughed as well, his smile lasting just a little longer than the norm.

'_Like shooting fish in a barrel'_

The players walked out to their respective courts. Sora, dressed in her white and red tennis attire, was a stunning beauty and the crowd favorite, as she waved to the crowd, their roaring only increased. Rebecca Chambers, her opponent, was dressed in her white and blue tennis attire as well, she stared at the crowd behind her large aviator sunglasses. Studying the crowd. Looking for someone…

** HSAS **

** establishing connection…**

** connection established…**

** subject?**

** subject acquired…**

** excellent**

** are we on schedule?**

** yes**

** Crush her…**

** acknowledged **

** connection terminated…**

AN: There it is, Part 1. Part 2 will be available soon, let me polish it up and post it for you. Thank you for taking the time to read it. Any comments, reviews, or suggestions can be left in the review section, feel free to email me. The Writer.


	3. Futility

_AN_: So...here's the continuation of Session 2. It took a bit longer to write than anticipated, but anyway, enjoy. The Writer

_Disclaimer_: The following story contains characters that don't belong to me. I don't own Digimon. I don't want to. I only own the original characters and plot .Don't sue. Thank you.

_Chronicles of a Forsaken One_

_Session 2 -Futility-_

_Part 2_

The announcer began to speak. Everyone in the crowd stood up and sang the national anthem. The game began. Sora was clearly the more talented one, winning the first game of the set. The second game began and the two went at it again. Rebecca was making Sora work for her victory. It almost seemed as if she wasn't interested in winning. Sora took the second game of the first set. The third game began, this one, seeming to go as fast as the last one, except that at 40-love, Rebecca returned a hard lob from Sora to get 40-15. Then it was 40-30. No effort at all. Deuce. They were tied at 40-40, with Sora and Rebecca fighting for the advantage. After several exchanges, Sora won the third game. This left her exceptionally exhausted, yet Rebecca was fine. Sora snuck a peek at her as she drank from her sports bottle. Rebecca was patiently waiting for the next game; she reflected no signs of exhaustion at all. Then again, Sora wasn't the same tennis player she used to be. The fourth game started with Sora once again, taking an early lead, with Rebecca catching up, yet at 40-30, Rebecca slipped, missing the return, and giving Sora the set.

The second set started, this time with Rebecca serving. Sora in her ready stance, awaited the serve. She took a good look at Rebecca this time, her amber eyes accentuated her brown hair. She seemed oddly out of place in blue. No. She had to concentrate on the serve. Sora had seen Rebecca serve before at her last game, it was the one area of her game that was exceptionally well, that and her unusually high endurance. She stared into her eyes as they gave Sora a quick flash, she threw the ball into the air, and served, a fast ball. Too fast. The meter registered an whopping 150 mph, completely overpowering Sora. Rebecca stood in her stance, ready to serve. She served a slower ball, as if to mock Sora. They played for the next point ferociously. As if to prove something. Sora scored, making the score 15-15. They played an impressive game, but eventually Rebecca won the first game of the second set. The second game started almost as fast as the first one, with the crowd expecting Rebecca's fast balls, and no faults called upon her, Sora lost the second game. She was exhausted by now. Taking a swig of her sports drink, she stole another peek at Rebecca, no signs of exhaustion at all. The third game, Sora was on the ball this time, she caught Rebecca's serve and sent it back. The third game was impressive, but Sora lost. The crowd was restless. She could feel that. Something was wrong. Fourth game and this time Rebecca served another slow ball, Sora returned the served with a hard-core splice, taking Rebecca by surprise. Another hard game for both players, they tied again at 40-40. Rebecca served and after a bout, gained the advantage. Sora again, tied the game at Deuce. The crowd went wild on that play. Sora smiled. They were cheering for her after all. She turned to take a look at Matt. He was looking right at her, encouraging her to win. Rebecca served, and the bout began again. In a vicious lob, Rebecca slammed Sora in the head with the ball. She stumbled and tripped. The court paramedics rushed to her assistance. Rebecca won the second set, and ran over to Sora's court

"Oh my god, are you OK?" she asked

Sora, in a daze, answered, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Totally fine"

"I am so sorry, you have to believe me, that was an accident"

"No, yeah, I know" she said, while she was being checked

"Ma'am," the paramedic said, "do you feel you can continue?"

Sora nodded. There was no way she was giving up the match over a possible injury.

The paramedics moved back and Rebecca helped Sora up. They went over to the referee. Spoke for a while. He got off his high chair. Walked over to Sora.

"Miss, do you feel OK? Do you feel you can continue playing?"

"Yes" she said "I'm fine, let's just get the next set started"

He nodded. They exchanged courts. This time with Sora to serve.

The final set had started. Sora had the advantage. She would serve. But her confidence was shattered. She was scared. She stared into Rebecca's eyes. No fear. No worry. A complete opposite. Not a bead of sweat. She had ice in her veins. She had seen that look before. On Tai.

She served. The battle for the first game had begun. Sora was working hard now. She had to win. Had to establish dominance. Rebecca's expression was also that of aggression. Sora returned the ball with a ferocious cut. An impossible return. She stood in awe at her speed. Her grace. Her flow. All of this occurred in just a matter of seconds. She lost the first point. 15-love. She caught the ball the ball boy tossed at her. Stared at Rebecca. Then she realized what had happened. She'd been holding back. Since the beginning she'd been holding back.

_'Keep calm. Keep it together, Sora. She's only human. You can win'_

No matter what she told herself, it wasn't working. She was calm and collected on the outside. Inside she was a nervous wreck. She could feel the sweat around her neck. It was cold.

_'Just serve and play. That's all you can do'_

Sora served and the bout began again. Both girls were exhausted. The game had taken its toll on their young bodies. Rebecca returned the slice from Sora but Sora's counter-return stumped her. 15-15. They continued to play the rest of the first game. Sora won and took the first game. She still felt scared. It would take everything she had to win this game. The second game began, with Rebecca easily defeating Sora. The third game began. The score was now tied. 1-1.

_'Rebecca isn't afraid of me. She's in total control. I have to take control. Have to use my fear. Tai wouldn't be scared. He's never scared. Ever. I'm not Tai.'_

It was no use. Sora served again, a hard slice, registering at 140mph. She had to win. The third game ended with a hard victory for Sora. She was drinking even more Gatorade now. She reeked of the stuff. Rebecca was also drinking Gatorade now. She seemed exhausted but in control. She was calm. The fourth game began, with Rebecca winning. The fifth game, with Sora taking the victory again. The sixth game began, a rough match for Rebecca, as she fell and dislocated her foot. The paramedics rushed to her. She pushed them off and sat on the court. Asked for her tennis racket. Placed the neck of her racket in her mouth. A make-shift teeth guard. She grabbed her leg and put her foot back into place. The tears rolled down her eyes as she did so. Sora just stared at her.

_'She's tough. I would never be able to do that'_

The referee walked over to her. Sora, on the other side of the court, couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Miss, the paramedics are telling me you dislocated your foot"

"It's fine now, I placed it back in"

"Miss, I'm sorry you're going to have to pick up the game later"

"No!" she yelled, "I want to finish the match now"

"You can't play on that foot. I'll swell up"

"It's one more game. Please give me that"

She stared at him. His expression changed. She smiled. He got up and went towards his chair. Got his microphone.

"Normally after an accident like this, it's mandatory that the match be postponed and picked up at another time, but it is a championship. There is but one more game left and Ms. Chambers insists that the match continues"

He put down the microphone and got back on his chair.

Rebecca got up and walked slowly towards the edge of the court. Sora gazed at her yet again. It was the last game, with Rebecca injured, Sora could win. No. She didn't want to win like that.

"Ready?" she yelled to her opponent

She nodded.

Sora served a whopping 130mph ball. Rebecca, surprisingly, ran towards the ball and returned it with a fast slice. Gaining the first point.

Sora got another ball from the boy. The score was tied. 6-6. This was the tiebreaker. Rebecca wasn't backing down. She had to get in gear. Sora served and after several bouts, won the point. The tension was piling up. Usually she could play without even seeing the crowd. She would concentrate only on the match. Not this game. Sora could feel their eyes, drawn to her plight. Drawn to Rebecca's plight. Two great players, battling it out.

_'15-15. I can win this, just don't tie, she'll crush me if I do'_

She served again. Another bout, another point for Rebecca. Everyone in the stadium was anxiously waiting to see who would come out the victor. Sora returned a hard lob, throwing it out of bounds. The point was for Rebecca. 40-15. She couldn't quit just yet. She had to come back. She served Rebecca's match point. The bout began. Sora had to be quick. Had to score the point. Rebecca slipped again. Sora saw her chance. Took it. Scored a hard slice, making the score 40-30. She served again. Rebecca was playing harder than before. Injured foot and all. It didn't matter. Not to Sora. She finally had dominance. The score was tied. 40-40. The real game was about to begin now.

Sora caught the ball the ball boy had tossed her. Dribbled it on the ground. Once. Twice. She stared at Rebecca's face. A wry smile on her face. It didn't matter anymore. Not to Sora. She wasn't afraid anymore. Her body ached. She was sweating all over. There were blisters on her hands from squeezing the racket too hard. They would heal, but not her pride. Sora served. They fought ferociously over the advantage, several times serving nearly impossible returns only to see their opponents return the ball. Sora sent a hard slice her way. Rebecca returned it sloppy, sending it straight to the net. Sora had won the advantage. It was match point. This time, in Sora's favor. Sora served and saw Rebecca returned the ball. The bout was on. Rebecca served hard lob, sending Sora running to the back of the court. Sora returned with a hard lob herself. Rebecca sent the ball back with a light tap. A calculated tap. It landed right in front of Sora, too out her reach. The score was tied again. A deuce. Sora served again. This time, Rebecca was more aggressive than ever, returning everything with a hard slice. She was able to bluff Sora, and scored the advantage. Sora, breathing hard, grabbed another ball. Served the ball and the bout began. The crowd was completely silent, with the only noised that could be heard was the smack of the ball, and the strain of the players. Rebecca returned Sora's ball with a sharp slice to the right. Too sharp. Sora wasn't expecting that. Throughout the entire match, she had never done that. The match was Rebecca's.

Sora had lost...

It all happened in a matter of seconds but she had lost. The crowd supported their new champion as her friends just stared at her. She walked up to Rebecca. Shook her hand.

"Good game" said Sora, trying to smile. Inside she was furious.

"Good game? It was a great game" said Rebecca " I've never played like that before in my life, ever. You're the toughest opponent I've ever faced. I mean that, Sora. I hope we get another chance to play someday"

With that, Rebecca walked away. Sora stared as she walked. She was limping. Sora smiled. Walked away herself.

_'It had been a good game. A great game'_

"Well..." said Izzy as they stood in the halls of the arena.

"What we need to do is find Sora" said Yolei, as the others nodded.

"Kari, it was great seeing you again, I have to go now" said Marshall "I have someplace else to be"

"Hold on, let us pay you the wager" said Matt

Marshall nodded. Matt collected the money. It was about 35, 00 yen. Marshall counted it in his head as he saw Matt collect it from the others.

_'It's a little less than 300 dollars, American. Good take'_

Marshall began to walk away, but turned around, said,

"You may not believe me, but...I was cheering for Sora the entire time"

Matt stared at him, skeptically

"Believe it. Maybe I'll see you again, perhaps when the world's a better place"

This time, he walked away. Disappeared with the crowds. He had a habit of doing that.

Matt and the others made their way towards Sora's locker room.

Sora came out after a while. She was wearing a blue shirt, with the words "Nuke the Whales" written in Japanese, faded out jeans, and Chucks.

"Hey, guys"

The others greeted her in similar fashion.

"Hey babe" said Matt

She walked up to him and hugged him. Hard.

She cried a little. Her sounds were muffled. The others just stood there. This had been a big match. She was the favorite. She was supposed to win. None of that mattered anymore. Sora let go of Matt. Composed herself. Said,

"Come on guys, let's go. Tai's waiting for us"

As she spoke these words, their expressions changed. Everyone was afraid. Kari took the first step. The others followed suit. The time had come.

The apartment was silent. He sat at the table, eating yet another bowl of cereal. Silence. That's all he heard. There was no one else there. His parents had gone to work for the night. There was no one else there. No one real anyway. He heard a knock at the door. Knew immediately who it was. He shifted his attention to the guitar. In its cold case, it stood there by his room door. He'd give it back today. It had served its purpose. He heard Kari call out his name.

Sighed. Put on his Aviators. Got up. Went towards the door. Unlocked it. Opened it. He saw them all there. Their expressions, difficult to read. Not sad nor happy. Just odd.

"Come in" he said, his voice gravelly and hoarse.

They did as they were told.

T.K and Kari sat on a couch, Izzy leaned by it. Davis, Yolei, and Ken sat on the other one. Matt and Sora stood.

"Everyone conformable?" he asked.

They nodded.

"Good" said Tai, "Let's begin"

He got up. Moved surprisingly fast. Went towards the guitar. Picked it up. Walked over to T.K

"Here you are, T.K."

"Tai...um..."

"You should have it back, man. I'll get my own someday. Thanks for letting me borrow it"

"No problem" said T.K, "did you learn how to play?"

"Yeah"

"Play something for us" said Yolei as the others looked to Tai for an answer.

"Nah, maybe some other time"

They would not insist. Tai knew that.

"So...how was the game?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Oh, dude, you should have seen it, man, it was great, it was probably the greatest tennis match I've ever seen" said Davis

"I'm sorry I missed it" said Tai

"It was great" said Yolei, "except for the fact that Sora _lost_"

"I was gonna tell him that" said Davis

Yolei made a face at him. Davis responded in kind.

"You lost?"

"Yeah, I did" said Sora, her expression, a confused one. Tai noticed this.

"I'm sorry, Sor" he said

"I'm not. It was the best match I've ever played" she said, smiling, "the one thing I can't figure out is, how I lost"

"What do you mean?" he asked

"I can't explain it, it was like she knew what I was going to do before I did it"

"Really?"

Sora smiled.

"It doesn't really matter" she said, "there will be other matches"

"About that..." said Izzy, as the focus of attention went onto him.

"Your friend cleaned us out" said Ken, finishing Izzy's train of thought.

"What?" asked Tai, despite the fact he knew what they were talking about.

"Yeah, your friend, a John Marshall"

Taichi smiled.

"Let me guess, _you_ made a wager _against_ John?"

Ken, Izzy and Davis nodded simultaneously.

Taichi laughed out loud this time. The expressions on their face told another tale. It wasn't funny. He composed himself, said,

"So" grinning, "how much did each of you wager, cause, I'm gonna assume you all pitched in"

They all nodded this time. Simultaneously.

_'They still do that'_

He smiled.

"So?"

"It was around 2500 yen, each" said Izzy

"What?!" said Sora, "that's around-"

"-It's 17, 500 yen, give or take" said Izzy

"Not exactly" said Matt, a worried expression on his face

"We gave him 2-to-1 odds, remember?"

They all shared confused expressions this time, all except Tai.

"2-to-1, huh?" said Tai

"Yeah" said Matt just as fast

"Hey, wait a minute" said T.K, finally clicking, "I didn't give you 5, 000 yen"

"Neither did I" said Kari.

Tai caught on quickly. Eyed Matt. His expression was uneasy.

"Matt" he said, "can I talk to you privately?"

The room came to a standstill. Their eyes now rested on Tai and Matt.

Matt nodded. They went outside. Towards the balcony .The room was still silent.

Matt leaned against the sliding glass door. He shivered, and crossed his arms. He was cold. Tai looked around. Looked down towards the street. The wind was blowing. A moderate force. He didn't feel a thing. Just stared at Matt. Matt stared back.

"So" he said

Matt said nothing. Kept his stare.

"You paid Marshall 20 grand out of your own pocket?"

"Yeah, I did, what about it?"

Tai sighed.

"John's my friend. I'll refund you the money"

"No, Tai" said Matt, "Don't"

"This is my fault, Matt, I knew how competitive John was, I didn't say anything"

"Tai, this wasn't your fault. It was mine. I'm the idiot who raised the stakes" said Matt, half-smiling.

"They probably figured it out already" said Tai

"Yeah"

"What are you gonna tell them?"

"The truth, that I lost 20 grand, that's all"

"You could always lie" said Tai, jokingly

Matt leaned off the door and playfully punched Tai. Tai smiled. Matt slid opened the door.

"Hey, man?"  
"What?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure" said Matt, started walking but stopped. Turned around.

"Tai?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you lie to us?" he asked, his tone different. Soft but firm.

Tai walked up to him. Put his hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I would" he said, nonchalantly.

He saw Matt's expression changed. He said,

"Only if I had no choice though"

They went through the room. Out into the living room once again.

The group was silent. Matt quickly rejoined Sora's side.

Sora whispered,

"What was that all about?"

"I'll tell you later" he answered, also whispering.

Sora flashed him a quick smile.

Tai saw them. He'd tell them now.

"Sora, Matt, why don't you guys pull up a chair or two and sit down?" he said. As best as he could.

"Tai, we're fine, thank you" said Sora. Matt nodded.

"I really think you should sit down" said Tai. His voice, different. His tone, firm.

Sora looked at Matt. Her eyes gave her away. She was concerned. He was too. Taichi read their expressions. He smiled. Inside.

Matt and Sora got chairs from the kitchen. Placed them next to Izzy, who stood. She held his hand, while he gently, but firmly, squeezed hers back. Tai saw this too. Izzy still stood but Tai wouldn't say anything to him.

Izzy knew how to take bad news.

He was used to giving them, so why not take them?

"I...need to get some things off my chest" said Tai as he got their full attention.

"There are some things that I feel I need to address with you. A few months back, I received an invitation to participate in the latest trials, which start in a few days"

He waited, observing their unique expressions.

Shocked. Appalled. Dismayed. Just some of the words he could use to describe them.

They knew of the dangers of the trials. No one who had ever participated in the medical trials for JCS had survived. Not a living soul.

"I've accepted"

There was a commission.

"Tai, how could you do this to us?!" asked Sora, who looked like she could burst into tears at any moments

"Tai, do you understand the consequences of what you're about to do?!" said Matt in a frenzy, "You're signing your own death warrant"

"Tai, you do this and you will die" said Ken

"There's got to be another way" said Yolei

Kari and Izzy were silent.

"Tai, listen bud" said Davis, "I don't know much but I know you. You're not the type to give up like this. These people will poke and prod you and you won't survive. You can't do this"

"I have to do this" said Tai,

"I've survived longer than anyone else. I've lived for 7 months. I should be dead. They're interested in that. They believe there is a gene or an antibody in my system that's delaying my death. They want to find it. I want to help them. It's my decision. I'm sorry"

There was silence in the room, mixed with a hint of sorrow. What he had told them was the unthinkable. In their hearts and minds, he was invincible. He'd never given up. Why was he doing this now? They didn't know.

Kari knew.

Izzy knew.

He continued,

"I know this is a shock to you all, you weren't expecting this...but I have to do this"

"Stop saying that" said Sora, "you're so convinced you're going to die. You've given up"

Taichi was silent. He sighed,

"The last six months, I've been fighting. I've also been thinking about a way to help you"

"You want to help us?" said Izzy, a tad confused.

"What happens to me after the trials doesn't concern me as much as what will happen to you" answered Tai

"For the last 2 months, I've been writing a series of letters" he said, "12 in total"

"Twelve?" said Davis, counting something with his fingers

"Eleven of those letters go to you, the last letter goes to my parents"

"Where are they?" asked Yolei to no one, though Tai heard her.

"Good question" said Tai "the letters are in a safe place. You will receive them after I've left for the trials. I've made sure of that. They are the reason you ran into John today"

"He's got the letters?" said Yolei, "can you trust him?"

"John's a good guy, he's misunderstood, and to tell you the truth, he's got a gambling problem, but he'll do this for me"

"There's more" he added.

"More?" said Matt

"I just...want to say that you guys made my life worth living. I laid awake at night, thinking of our adventures and, those were the happiest moments of my life. My biggest regret was...not cherishing our time together. I took it for granted, for that I want to apologize"

As he said, he felt...nothing. No sadness. No remorse. No regret. He neither felt content, nor did he feel empty. Neither peace nor turmoil. It was the balance of nothingness.

"It's getting late, so..." said Tai, "let's wrap this up. There are a few things I want to say to you, right here. I wish the whole group was here, but that's unrealistic, so here it goes"

He turned his focus on T.K and his sister.

"T.K" he said,

"In the coming months, I probably won't be around as much, I need your spirits to be high. It will be tough but I know that I can count on you"

"Kari" he said, now addressing her, "I need you to take care of the others. I know that it's an odd request, but I know you can do it. You've never disappointed me, and you never will"

"I will, Tai" she said, almost smiling.

T.K nodded.

"Davis," Tai said, hesitating for a moment, "you and I are more alike than you think. The only sound advice that I can give you is that you've made me proud and that I'm sorry I won't get to spend any more time with you. You may not understand my reasons for doing this, but I think, that with time, you'll be fine"

Davis was silent. Still angry, though he managed to nod and smile.

"Ken, you were a major pain in the ass in your day, but the changes you've made are impressive. You've become a respectable and invaluable asset of the team, keep it up"

Ken smiled, said,

"I will, Tai, you just take care of yourself while you're in the trials"

"I'll do that"

"When will you leave?" asked Yolei, who was right beside Ken.

"Soon" answered Tai, continued,

"Yolei? I see a lot of potential in you. I ask of you to take care of Ken, take care of my sister, and of T.K. The younger digi-destined are looking to you for solace, when they fall, I know you will help them. I know it"

Yolei simply stared at him. She was speechless. She had never heard him say anything like that.

Taichi smiled. He looked to Izzy. He was still troubled about his decision.

"Izzy" said Tai, his tone once again changing,

"You know that without you, we'd have never gotten out of the digital world alive. You saved our skins so many times. I'm in your debt, Izzy. Thanks, man. I don't know what else to say to you that I haven't already addressed in the letters"

"You're welcome, Tai" said Izzy.

Taichi studied Izzy's expression. He could detect no hints of anger nor sadness. Izzy believed in Tai. He believed what Tai planned to do was the right thing. He supported it. He didn't care.

"Matt" he said,

"What?" he said.

"I know that you don't agree with what I'm about to do-"

"Listen Tai, I was angry. I mean, you sprung this on us pretty quick, you know? If you feel you have to do this then, I'm with you all the way"

"Me too, Tai, sorry for earlier" said Sora

"That's Ok, it's completely understandable, thank you for your support"

"Sora" he said, as he said this, he stopped. Looked around. He cleared his throat,

"Guys, can I have a couple of minutes alone with Sora?"

Most of them nodded. Matt smiled. An uneasy smile on his face.

Taichi walked up to Sora. Grabbed her hand. His hand was cold, devoid of life. This was the norm now. He led her to the balcony. He closed all the doors. Shut the drapes. Whatever he had to say to Sora, was for Sora alone.

She stood there. Staring at him. How he had changed. He never really smiled anymore. He had no reason to.

"Tai?"

"Sora?"

"You go first" she said

"No, you first" he replied.

"I'm going to miss you" she said, as the tears began to escape her eyes. He reached for her and embraced her in a hug. Her tears fell on his shirt.

"It's going to be Ok"

"No, it's not"

Sora wouldn't cry in front of the others. She was strong, or at least she had to pretend she was. They were all pretending. All they did was pretend. Just like Tai.

They remained in their embrace, gently rocking back and forth to a ballad no one was playing. No words were spoken. His embrace was enough. He wouldn't say anything.

"Things will be different" she said

"You'll get by" he said

"And if I can't?" she said, her voice breaking up again.

"Matt will help you, he won't let you down"

She sighed, and pulled away from him. She brushed off the tears.

"Taichi?" she said

"Yeah?"

"Will you miss me?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I'll miss you. I'll miss all of you" he replied, continued,

"Sora, you're the greatest friend I've ever had. There are things I've told you I've never told anyone. Things I can only tell you in private. I need you to be strong, and if you can't, then know that I...that I...

_'I hate you'_

"You what, Tai?" she asked.

"I'll always be there" he said

_**'Liar'**_

She hugged him again, and went inside, as it was cold outside. The breeze was blowing. He couldn't feel it though. He stood there alone. The others were inside. He looked down. Staring at nothing in particular.

He_was_ a liar.

He wouldn't miss her.

Quite the contrary.

_AN:_So there it is. I promise Ch. 3 will be out much, much sooner than this. I've been having some problems with my rig, but that's all finished now. I wrote this chapter on Buzzword. It's an online web based word processor. Just making a plug. Hope you enjoyed it. Please review if you did...


	4. A Choice

_AN: _This is Chapter 3 of the story. I know it probably raises more questions than it answers but it will all make sense soon. I apologize for taking so long to post it, it's a long story. The Writer.

_Disclaimer_: The following story contains characters that don't belong to me. I don't own Digimon. I don't want to. I only own the original characters and plot .Don't sue. Thank you.

Chronicles of a Forsaken One

_Session 3 -A Choice-_

_August 31, 2004_

He looked up. A sign of a man awaiting something.

He could see the rain coming. It wasn't here yet. It would be here soon. He was not waiting for rain. No.

The concept of the weather, and how it would affect him was of no importance to him. He sighed, and made his way through the crowds, something about crowds made him feel so insignificant. So alone. He wasn't sad though. Not in the least bit. He liked the crowds. He loved them. The crowds provided a certain sense of anonymity. Often, he would describe the crowds as "the blur."

When you first see "the blur" from a distance, you can see all the colors, pick out the different types of people. As time goes on, "the blur" begins to take effect. You no longer see the beautiful shades, the tones, but rather a hazy collection of the different people who inhabit a city. All out to move about and accomplish something with their lives. If you could call that living.

He knew how to move about "the blur". He knew how to disappear. He often thought about these people. As he walked through airports. Bus stations. Subways. Shopping centers.

All the lovely people. His moves were controlled. Lucid. Almost a reflex. He allowed himself to daydream about all the things he could do. He was in a subway now. He thought about all the people there. To his left, three ladies stood in place. No younger than himself.Dressed in all manner of fashionable clothing. He didn't bother with the rest. Would anyone care if they went missing? Would anyone care if _he _missing? How could they?

Most people took their lives for granted. He never really understood why. Life was something to be cherished, and yet, they simply moved along with waves. All he had done for them. It was his job to make sure they had the right to take their lives for granted. A job he was beginning to resent.

To his right, there was another girl. She was alone. Fairly young. Just like him.From her attire, she was just leaving work.Going home.Wherever that may be.He could smell her from where he stood. It wasn't a matter of perfume, or odor. It was the scent of distress. He immediately looked to her surroundings. There was a man standing behind her. His expression was blank. Hers was not. No one seemed to notice though. He had studied this culture extensively, he had read about this type of assault, on subway cars. Now he was witnessing one. He stared at this man. Tall, with glasses.Expensive suit. His little briefcase by his side. He was a nobody.

The man in black, his Aviator shades in the folds of his coat, his K-bar to the left, his P99 to the right. This man had no appreciation for life. He had no meaning. He simply existed. Meaningless existence should not be.

He thought it over.

_'Can I kill this man?'_

There was no moral question to answer.

Nothing holding him back.

He smiled.

He took out his cell phone. An ordinary little thing. He flipped it open with his right, while he held onto the subway with his left. He snapped the photo. He needed to be able to recognize him. He couldn't do it there.

He closed his phone. Placed back in its place, a pocket from his coat.Took a look at his Bvlgari.

Plenty of time.

_'The next stop is coming. He'll get off at this stop.'_

The subway began to slow down. As if obeying his commands, he began to move towards the exit. Leaving the young girl there. The man in black followed. It was a tight squeeze as many of the subway's passengers were getting off at this exit.It was a popular exit. The man in black, however, was not aware of that. As the passengers got off and others got on the subway, he took out his Aviators. Put them on. Caught a glimpse of the girl.

_'These kind of things happen all the time'_

He wasn't out to get justice. All he wanted was the kill. He saw his mark. The man in the business suit was in a hurry.

_'Bathroom. You'll want to use the bathroom'_

The man in the business suit stopped, briefly, then made his way towards the bathroom. The man in black followed. "Mr. Business Suit" went into one of the stalls. The man in black went towards a urinal. Did his business. Joined "Mr.Business Suit" at the mirrors, where they would wash their hands.

"Long day, huh?" the man in black asked.

"Yup, just like every other day" he replied.

They were alone now. That was good.

"I feel ya, bud, so what kind of work do you do?"

"I work with computers"

"Oh, I see"

"You?"

"I'm a janitor, although I like to call myself a cleaner"

"Cleaner, huh?"

"Yeah"

The man in black stared at him as he dried his hands.

"Have a good one" he said, smiling.

"I already did" he replied, also smiling.

He turned his back on him. He took out his P99. Gave him a vicious blow to the head. His body dropped down. Hard. He grabbed his collar with his left. Dragged him across the floor into the stalls. Set him by the toilet. He regained consciousness staring down the barrel of a suppressed Walther P99. The man in black slowly got up. Removed his Aviators with his free hand.

"Please-"

_puff-puff_

Silenced by two carefully placed shots to his head. The body slumped to the floor of the stall, staining the white tile red.

He collected the empty shells. Placed his P99 back in its place. Put his Aviators back on. It had all taken place in the span of a few minutes. He exited the bathroom. No one had seen him. Walked towards the exit of the subway station. He wouldn't get a chance to hear the screams. It didn't matter. He began to hear soft noises. They came from his Bvlgari. It only meant he had somewhere else to be. He smiled. He was glad to see he was still on schedule. He exited the station. It was dark already. The night was young. His job tonight was just about to start.

The room was a mess. Everything was in shambles. No amount of therapy or drugs could stop the voices now. He had failed to report that to his doctor the last time he was there. It didn't matter much to him, though. He'd never go back again. He wasn't the type to give up. He wasn't the type to see a lost cause. A battle that was already over. His urges were too strong. He could no longer control them. The voices no longer went away. He sat on the floor, his back to the wall. His head slumped. He wasn't awake, but he wasn't sleeping. He was somewhere in between. Just staring at the mirror in his room. The rain was pouring hard now. Through random flashes of thunder he could see it, reflecting off his mirror. He saw the mirror. Through those flashes, he'd see himself. Occasionally. The trials would start in a few days, but he didn't care. He wasn't going. Through those flashes, he saw his medication.

Scattered all over the floor, along with the rest of his things.

Most people who wanted to die, it was simple for them. Not for him. He could take 4, 5 times the required dosage. It wouldn't even make him drowsy. He turned his head to the right. Saw at arms reach exactly what he'd been looking for. A kitchen knife. He wasn't allowed to use knives anymore. Some people had the wild notion he was a danger to himself and others. He reached for it. Grabbed it. Felt the edge. It was razor sharp. He placed the knife on his wrists. Cutting one's wrists was clichéd. He exhaled, and began to cut his skin. The voices banished. They were replaced by a single, whispering voice.

_**'What are you doing, Tai?'**_

He stopped. Put the knife down. Shot a look at the door.

He was hearing things. _Of course _he was hearing things. In all his time, the voices had never spoken _to _him. Just _at _him. He waited a while. Grabbed the knife again. Again the voice.

_**'Did you not hear me, Tai? What are you doing?'**_

This time, it was crystal clear. The voice was soft. Calm. Cold. Collected. Totally in control. It was creepy.

"Who's out there?" he whispered to one in particular. The rain continued. He got no response.

_**'I know you can hear me. Stop ignoring me'**_

"I can hear you" Tai said, then added, "Why are you talking to me?"

_**'I've been searching for you. Do you wish to know why?'**_

"Yes"

_**'You've seen it. In your dreams. Your nightmares. That is the truth. You want to understand what you see and why, but you can't.'**_

"What is the truth?"

_**'You...are going to die. That much is certain. I suspect that you're Ok with that. Perhaps you even made your peace with God. Asked him to look into your affairs once in a while. That's nice.'**_

"I don't want to die"

_**'What do you want?'**_

"Peace"

_**'Peace? You don't get peace. Your friends get peace. They get love. They get to live great lives. They get to enjoy life. That life is not for you. You get pain, misery and despair. Which you'll come to find aren't so bad'**_

"Why is this happening to me? Why am I here? Why me?"

_**'Call it Fate. Destiny. The truth is, it doesn't really matter. You're here because you're here. Why you? Why not you? Would you really wish your fate upon your friends?**_

Taichi said nothing. Tears ran down his face. He made no effort to clean them. Just sat there.

_**'Taichi, have you ever been powerless? I know you have. You were powerless on that day. A lot of things about you changed on that day. You lost everything that mattered to you. You've nothing to lose now, Mr. Kamiya. Most people consider this a weakness. A failure. Not me. You've nothing to lose, Mr. Kamiya, but everything to gain. You can have the world'**_

"I don't want the world. All I want is...freedom. I want freedom...from everything...everyone"

_**"Good. That I can give you. I can also give you something else you desire'**_

"What's that?"

_**'Purpose' **_the voice said, continued, _**'you want purpose. You've seen yourself in your dreams. What you don't understand, what you fail to grasp is that your dreams...they're our reality. A reality that will soon manifest itself upon the rest of the world. Your perception of the world has drastically changed. You know there can be no peace. You've seen the war that is coming, the question is, do you want to watch on by, let others take your glory, or...do you want to show the world who you really are? **_

Taichi was silent. He took in all the voice had revealed onto him.

_'War is coming'_

_**'Yes'**_

_'Am I really destined for war?'_

_**'I told you. It's not a question of destiny. Destiny does not control your life any more than it controls my life. We always have a choice, Mr. Kamiya. Think about your choices. Your life. You're nothing. You and I both know that. You have no prospects for the future. This life is over. It's time to die. **_

_'Shut up. You're not trying to help me. The only one who can help me is me'_

_**'Can you really help yourself here?'**_

_'No'_

_**'Taichi...you want to be free. I can give you the freedom you seek. I can free you from your thoughts, which betray you, I can free you from your family, which doesn't understand you. Your friends, who are powerless to help you. I can even free you from fear itself, the uncertainty of death is nothing but a human emotion. A process has begun inside you, a process that will rid you of these weakness human beings seem to suffer from'**_

"Stop it" he said out loud. He knew that wouldn't help, but he needed to feel some form of control over his latest tormentor.

"You're not real. You are a manifestation of fear. You're not real"

_**'Reality and perception are intertwined concepts, if you can distort one, you can indirectly influence the other. I may not truly be inside your head, but I might as well be. I know you can directly influence your reality. It is something we can all do. Along with freedom...purpose, I also offer you the truth. The truth is more valuable than any single human life, any single power in this world. I have told you all I can. The decision is yours. Once you've rid yourself of who you are, you will not be able to change. That is the price of your freedom. You will choose wisely. I know you will'**_

The silence left him in shock. The voice had stopped talking. The sense of dread, of despair he felt as it spoke was gone now. He took in all the voice had told him. There was no destiny. No grand plan for him. For anyone, for that matter. He had his entire life in front of him. A life that would soon end unless he did something. He had invested too much in his life. He could not easily forget all the reasons all the reasons why he wanted to continue living. Yet the more he thought about this, the more he came to realize: it was right.

For all he'd seen in his life, he knew the future wasn't written in stone. Nothing was certain. This was a lesson he'd learn the hard way. Nothing was certain. Not his life, nor anyone's life. For all he'd said, for all he had done, only now did he came to realize that his life was over. Not because he'd chose to end it, but because there was nothing left here for him. He now had a choice.He still sat there. Through the entire thing, he hadn't moved. He wasn't uncomfortable.

"We always have a choice" he said out loud, not to anyone in particular, but more to himself.

The depth of the silence that embedded his room, his life, seemed to be enough of an answer to him.

"I accept" he said, when he found himself alone, with no other presence in the room, no essence of anything, of anyone, he said,

"Are you still here?"

_**'Where else would I be?'**_

"Did you hear what I said?"

_**'Yes'**_

"So, what happens now?"

_**'Life happens'**_

"Life happens?"

_**'The end of the former, the start of the latter'**_

He dismissed his cryptic statement.

"What should I do now?"

_**'Now...you die. Get up, Tai. Leave your room. Walk towards the table in your kitchen. The mail is placed there. A package is addressed for you. Your sister "conveniently" forgot to inform you of it. Open the package'**_

The voice ceased to speak. It would give him more instructions as he did what it asked. Apparently, it had the ability to be aware of his actions. This didn't scare in the least bit. Fear had become increasingly difficult to manifest in the last couple of months. He didn't bother pretending anymore. He had no reason to. Not anymore.

He got up from his position. He made his way around the room. He could hear the torrent pouring down on the city. The rains had come. Despite the darkness that blanketed his room, he knew where everything laid. His eyes had become accustomed to the dark. To the night.

He put his shoes on. An old dusty pair of Converse All Stars. Original. He figured he was going somewhere he'd need them. He made a move towards his closet. Smiled, and headed towards the door instead. What was the point of a jacket if he couldn't feel anything? He undid the locks on his door. Opened it carefully. Slowly. He walked slowly. Making sure his weight didn't make his shoes squeak. He had learned in the last few months how acute Kari's ears really were. He didn't bother to close the door. Not just yet. He walked over to the table. Sure enough, amongst the junk mail, the bills, there was a small package there. Addressed to him. Just like the voice said. He'd find out later how it had done that. He now had to figure out how to open it. He thought about going towards the kitchen. Sneaking a knife away from the counter. No. Bad plan. He wasn't as familiar with the kitchen as he was with his room. With this room. He felt around his pajama pockets. Felt the knife. He hadn't even realized he'd stash it there. He'd done that involuntary. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. He took it out. Opened the box. Carefully. He didn't know what was in it, and he didn't want Kari waking up on him either. He stared into the box. It had cushy insides. The kind you used to protect something extremely important. He figured the odd looking hypodermic needle was of importance. He'd seen them before. In movies, documentaries, never in real life.

"Hey" he whispered. A whisper so soft, the rain outside seemed thunderous by comparison.

_**'You know what happens now, Tai. There is no turning back. Do what you must and walk away. We will meet soon enough'**_

The voice grew silent once more.

_'No turning back' _he grabbed the hypodermic needles by it's handles. Injected the substance in to his veins through his arm.

_'Nothing to turn back to'_

He made his way towards his room. Went towards his bedside table. It was a mess. He grabbed his old, busted digivice. He'd broken a few months back. He took out a picture from a frame he had on his table as well. Walked out the room. Closed the door. Locked it from the outside. Went towards the apartment door. Opened the door, but made sure it would lock again as he closed it. He was outside now. He hadn't been outside in a long time. That wasn't important. He had an urge to be somewhere. This much he knew. He started walking again. He made it outside the apartment complex. It was still raining. Hard. He didn't care. It didn't affect him. The night was an odd blur. His eyes re-focused to accommodate the night. His neighborhood was abnormally dark. He had never noticed that before.

As he continued walking, he realized he'd forgotten to take his medication. Yet he was fine. No pain. No voices. None of his old grievances came up. He stopped.

_'It's got to be that drug. Whatever it was, I feel fine'_

He continued to walk. He knew the streets. He knew the businesses. Some were open. Most were closed. The rain, combined with the glow of the lights, the occasional flash of lightning, the thunder made the night seemed hazy. It was beautiful to him. He hadn't seen something like this in a long time. He stopped at a light. The streets were deserted. He felt around his pockets. Felt the hypodermic needle in there. He threw it. Heard it shatter into a thousand pieces somewhere. He crossed the light and thought he saw a flash. Looked towards the direction the flash had come from. There was noting there. No one there either. Nowhere to hide. He passed a mailbox.

_**'Stop'**_

Taichi did as he was told.

_**'The items you secured from your room'**_

"What about them?" Taichi said out loud, but grew embarrassed. Despite the fact that no one was around, he still looked as if he were talking to himself. He had forgotten the voice could not only hear him speak, but read his thoughts as well.

_**'Dump the items you took from your room into the mailbox'**_

_'No'_

_**'You will acquire them later'**_

Reluctantly, he did as the voice told him. He had no reason to distrust the voice.

_'What is your name?'_

_**'Is that of any relevance?'**_

_'What is a name?' _Taichi pondered, hoping to convince the voice. A few moments later the voice answered,

_**'My name is...Bruce. Get going. You haven't much time'**_

Confident at the fact he had won an exchange, he started walking again.

As the building began to clear up, he realized where he was. He knew where he was going. Rainbow Bridge. The bridge was beautiful at night. Tonight wasn't a difference. No matter what was about to happen. He wasn't afraid. He wasn't anything. Neither sad, nor anxious, nor conflicted. Nothing. It had to be the drug. He started walking on the bridge. He figured he was going to the middle. He looked for traffic. It was late. With rain. There was nearly no traffic going by. A car went by, every now and then. They couldn't see him. He stopped. He climbed the wires. Made his way towards the edge. Stood there looking down. The water beneath the bridge looked cold. Not that he'd get a chance to feel it. He looked to his left. At another ridge, stood another living soul. He hadn't noticed him.

"Hey" Taichi shouted at him.

The guy looked back at him. It was a man. He was a couple of years older than Tai. He was dressed in a suit. Taichi had once read that Japan had one of the world's highest suicide rates among people his age. Two jumpers on the same bridge. Same time. That had to mean something.

"Things are that bad, huh?" Taichi said, hoping to get something out of the guy.

"Yeah" he said, "I lost my job, lost my girl, and my father says I've dishonored the family. My friends want nothing to do with me. I just...don't know what to do anymore"

Taichi nodded. He understood where he was coming from. At least partially.

"That sounds rough, at least you've still got your health"

"What do you mean?" he asked, a face of confusion.

"I've got JCS" said Tai, nonchalantly

"Oh" he replied, then said in the same tone, "That sucks"

"I'm not too worried" Taichi said, "I mean, I know why I'm up here, the question is, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, all your problems...don't really seem like problems...you know?"

He shook his head. He didn't understand.

"Your job...you get a new job. That's it. Your girl...you'll learn to live without her. If you need one, then get another one. Plenty of girls in Japan, bro. Your friends...you'll make new friends, forget about them"

"What about my father?"

Taichi smiled.

"You're on your own on that one, can't expect me to give you all the answers"'

The man smiled back. Taichi walked on the ledge to stand side by side of him. He turned to face him. The man was deep in thought. He looked at Tai. An odd expression on his face.

"So what happens now?" he asked Tai

Taichi smiled.

"Life happens"

"Life-" the man began to speak, but Taichi interrupted him with a swift and hard push that sent him back onto the bridge's sidewalk.

The man, still in shocked, stared at Tai, as he stood on the rail.

Taichi said, with a smile on his face,

"Good luck"

He jumped off the ledge into the harbor. He could feel the wind in his face. In his hair. It made him smile. That was the last thing he felt. No angels. No devils. No bright lights. No heavenly voices. Just...nothing.

He opened his lighter. Lit the cigarette. Sat down on the bench. Took a drag. His companion, his partner, held the umbrella closed to her. She wasn't as fond of the rain as he was. He stared at her, for just a second. She'd been doing this a long time now. He had found her. Brought her in. Eventually, she was assigned to him.

"What is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're staring"

"I'm sorry"

He sat down next to her. Grabbed the binoculars from her chair. Took a look through them. Their vantage point was perfect. Their view of the bridge was unhampered. They both sat there underneath the rain. In their black suits, white shirts, government-style shades. He took another drag. The cigarette was almost gone. She grabbed for her binoculars. High quality, with enhanced optics for night viewing. A must for stakeouts.

He put down his binoculars. Took a final drag. Crumbled the lit cigarette in his hands. It should burned him. It didn't.

"There he goes" she said.

He made a quick grab at his binoculars. Through them you could see a dark figure fall from the bridge. Hit the water. That was it. Death wasn't what it used to be. Not for them. He put down his binoculars. She followed the suit. They didn't move. She sat there with her umbrella. He sat right beside her.

"He's dead" she said, nonchalantly

"Yeah" he replied, same tone as hers.

"Make the call" he said to her. Took out another cigarette. Lit it up. Took a drag. All in one smooth motion.

"Yes, hello, I'm a...motorist driving down Rainbow bridge, I just saw a man, or a woman, jump off the bridge. I had to get out of my car, I just couldn't believe it" she said, a panicky tone on her voice.

"Yes" she continued, "I saw the splash the body made as it hit the water. Can you please send the coast guard or the police or something down here, oh my god, I just couldn't believe it. No, I'm not driving. I'm calm. Yes, thank you. My name, I'd like to remain anonymous. Yes...Yes. I'll try to have a good night. Yes, thank you, good night"

"It's done" she said, her cool, smooth tone back in her voice.

"Yeah" he replied.

"So...what do we do now?"

"What we always do" he replied "We wait"

"Sounds good" she said, "I'm kind of hungry"

He turned to look at her. Her shades were dangling on her upper jacket pocket. He could see into her heterochromatic eyes. One blue, One brown. Just like him.

"You want to eat something?"

"Yeah, what do you want?"

"I was actually in the mood for pancakes"

"That sounds good, I'm in"

She smiled.

"Ok, but...your treat"

"My treat?"

"I paid last time" she protested

"My treat then" he said, smiling.

"Did you speak to Beck?" he said

"No, I haven't made the call yet"

"You gotta call her. Confirm. We need that evidence"

"She'll have it. Relax"

"Can't relax" he said fast "If I don't come down you guys, they come down on me. Then nobody's happy"

"Are you happy?" she asked, a smile on her face

"We're working" he replied

"So what does that mean?"

"Nobody's happy"

"That sucks" she said. Made a face. He laughed. He knew she was joking around. She loved this job. Just like him.

"I know how to make it better though" he said, smiling

"Oh" she said, a look of mock surprise on her face. "You do?"

"Yeah, let's go get those pancakes. My treat"

"Doesn't make it better, but I'll take it"

He smiled.

They got up. Took their binoculars. Headed down the stairs towards their car. Pancakes would make him feel better. They always did. Now they played the waiting game. Wait. Wait, and wait some more. In a couple of days, they'd go back to work. In a couple days, they'd be back in New York.

_AN: _So that's it. Chapter 3. Chapter 4 will take a few weeks to finish. 3 weeks at most. I do apologize to my readers. I know I seem to take too long on the chapters, but you know what they say, good things come to those who wait. Please review the chapter. I don't know whether anyone's reading this or not. It doesn't matter but it would be nice to get a review. If you spot any errors, let me know. I'm real fastidious about that. I'll make the changes, repost the story and thank the reader who spotted them. Good bye for now. The Writer.


	5. Enlightened

**AN**: This is chapter 5, you might be wondering what I did with Chapter 4, well, Chapter 4 is a bit too...revealing, so no Chapter 4 for now. Enjoy the chapter. I apologize for the wait.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Digimon logo or any of the characters pertaining to the series. I only own the "original" story line, the original characters and anything else out of the ordinary. The Writer.

_Chronicles of a Forsaken One_

_Session 5 -Enlightened-_

_September 4, 2008_

The machines slowly monitored his condition. He was shut down. He'd get up soon enough though. It was time. The room was the standard hospital bedroom. The bed, the machines, the television. Even the couch.

**...systems check...**

**...diagnostics...**

**...diagnostics completed...**

**...systems restored...**

He awoke violently. Covered in sweat, gasping, trying to catch his breath. His vision was blurred, his head...fuzzy. He looked around the room. The door was locked with chains, and a huge padlocked. From the inside. He sat up on the bed. He was all sore. He hadn't moved in a long time. His eyes focused. He saw a mirror he hadn't seen before on the left, next to the door. On the door itself, a change of clothes hung on a hook. A suit. Complete with highly polished shoes. Next to the suit, a small table. Next to the bed, the machines that monitored his condition. He stood up. He walked towards the mirror. Slowly and with a large amount of pain, he took off the hospital gown. His body was a lot more developed. A lot more scarred too. His hair was shorter. Dyed jet black. His skin was pale. It was no longer that golden brown it was in his younger days. His eyes. They were heterochromatic. One blue. One brown. Just like them. He took the suit off the hook. Dressed. Carefully. He put his socks on, then his shoes. He stared at himself. All dressed. That wasn't him staring back. It was someone else. That much he knew. He walked over to the small table. It had a wallet. A pair of Aviator sunglasses. A contact lens holder. A folded letter. A lighter. His folded picture and his broken digivice. He took the letter. Unfolded the paper. It was short.

_Hello Tai_

_The objects on the table are all yours. As promised, you've got your photo and your device back. We have so much to tell you but I'm afraid we cannot meet at this moment. You'll have to wait. In the wallet, there should be enough money to get you home. Precisely 35,000 yen. Your driver's license. Your IDs. You'll notice there are several in there. Don't worry about that. I'll explain that soon enough. I'm in possession of the rest of your documents. I shall hand them over personally in the coming days. As you may have already guessed, you are in a hospital. Leave. Go home. One more thing. There is a storage card in your wallet. Look into that._

_-Bruce_

He folded the letter. Placed in his jacket pocket. He placed the rest of the items in different pockets. Underneath everything else, a small key. He grabbed it. Pushed into the padlock. Undid it. Placed the padlock and the heavy chains on the table. Opened the door. Step outside. He did everything slowly. He was still in pain. Just as confused as he had been the night before. Despite that though, he was different. He felt different. He began to walk down the aisle. Away from his room. He had already figured out where he was. This is where they brought Kari. That was so long ago. It seemed like ages. He found an elevator. He was surprised that no one had stopped him along the way. After all, a man, in shades, dressed in black. That wasn't a normal sight. This was a hospital. So...maybe not. He rode the elevator down several floors. Along the way, young medical students came and went. He thought about Joe. He wondered where he was. Why he hadn't shown up the night before. Maybe he already knew. The elevator reached ground floor. He walked into the lobby. Past the nurses. Past the security guards. Not a single word. He stepped outside. Wandered around for a bit, trying to get his bearings. The night was just starting. He didn't know what time it was.

"Here" someone said.

Taichi turned around. Saw a young man standing next to him. He was dressed, just like him. No shades on him. The crowds went around the two. Taichi directed his attention towards the man's hands. A watch. Taichi took it.

"Thanks" he said, added, "who are you?"

"Just a fellow survivor" he answered, "I work for Bruce"

"So..._that_ is his name"

"Yes...why would he lie to you?"

"I don't know"

They remained quiet.

"You're not from around here, are you?" asked Tai

"No, I'm originally from England, but I guess I live here now"

"You don't sound English, no accent"

"I make it a point not to use an accent"

"Oh" said Tai, "well your Japanese is fluent"

"Thanks" he replied, "it has to be"

Taichi nodded. He followed suit.



"What's your name?" he asked

"I'm Brian" he said, "Bruce would have loved to meet you in person, but he's away. You must know that"

"Yes, he mentioned it in the letter"

"Good" said Brian, then walked away. He came back shortly after, a newspaper in his hand.

"You read the news, Tai?"

"Not really"

"You really should, who knows, something important might happen, and you just might miss it"

He gave Tai the paper. Taichi skimmed it. Immediately found the error. At least he thought it was an error.

"This paper's a fake" he said, a tone in his voice.

"What do you mean?" asked Brain, a thin smile on his face

"It says 2008"

"So it does"

"It can't be the year 2008"

"Why not?" asked Brian, again smiling

Taichi found himself at a loss. He said, weakly,

"I don't know"

Brian nodded.

"And on that note, I'm leaving. I'll see you in a couple of days, Tai"

"One more thing, though" said Brian, with Tai's attention in full.

"What?" he asked.

"Use the contacts...there are people who are aware of the colors"

"The colors?"

"Yeah" said Brian, "now, I'm really late"

He took off.



Taichi just stood there. Among the crowd. He watched him as he disappeared. He still held the paper in his hand. Speechless. Four years. No. That wasn't possible. Had he been in a coma? He didn't know. He couldn't remember. That wasn't important right now. He had to get home. He made his way through the crowds. Walked into a restaurant. Headed for the bathroom. He put on the contacts. They were brown. He smiled a little. At least someone had been considerate enough to get him brown eyes. That someone could have been him. He didn't know. He stepped outside. Checked the time. Early. He made his way towards the subway. Quickest way home. He paid his fare. Awaited the train.Alongside him stood a familiar goggle wearing, former leader of the new generation. He recognized Davis immediately. His stride, his confidence, he could identify it, he could sense it. He could almost...feel that Davis was right next to him. They boarded the train. Sat down next to one another. A ghost train. No one traveling to Odaiba right now. It wouldn't stay like this for long. For a second, he wanted to tell him. Everything. He hesitated. His exterior. Calm. Collected. Controlled. The longer he thought about it, the less he was inclined to actually speak to him. His voice had changed. Drastically. His appearance. Everything.

Everything was different.

Nothing was the same.

These two, small little sentences would come to define Tai. He just didn't know it yet. The train stopped at it's next scheduled stop. No longer a ghost train, but an uncomfortable ride. Taichi snuck a peek at Davis. He was playing around with his cell phone. Headphones in his ear lobes. He couldn't hear a thing. That was good. He was still wearing his Aviators. He thought about taking them off. Decided against it. He had changed in four years. Davis himself was also different. No longer a boy but a man. A man resigned. He didn't know why he felt that. Davis turned around to face him. Taichi, looking elsewhere, could feel his vision pierce him. Davis saw nothing but a man in black. They repeated this dance as the train made more stops. The faceless, nameless crowds got off, got on the train. Everyone with a story to tell, yet none could tell their story quite like Tai could. After all, he had died. How many of them could say that? He heard the announcement. His stop. He got up, made his way through the crowded train towards the exit. He looked to his left and noticed that Davis had also gotten off. That made sense. He lived in the area. He started walking off towards the exit. He made wide strides, when he heard that familiar tone. Calling at him

"Excuse me?"

He turned around. He saw Davis, looking straight at him.

Something had given him away.

"Yeah?"

"Where did you get that?"



"This?" said Tai, referring to the broken digivice, strapped on his belt.

"Yeah" said Davis with a tone.

Taichi thought for a moment. A fraction of a second.

"I bought it" he said

"Really?"

"Yeah" said Tai, a thin smile on his face. He had seen Davis mad before. He wasn't mad this time. It was something else.

"Who'd you buy that from?" he asked, with an odd expression on his face.

"Private party"

"Is that right?"

"Yes, that _is _right" Taichi said, awaiting his next response.

"Do you know what that is?" asked Davis, carefully.

"Yeah" said Tai, continued, "I know what it is, I know it's broken. I intend to fix it and learn about how it works, why it can do the things it does"

"No one can fix it. It's broken"

"So they say" replied Tai as they stood there, amongst the people.

"Are you a digi-destined?"

"No Davis, I'm not" said Tai

His expression changed, he seemed alert. Angry.

"How do you know my name? Are you stalking me?"

"That's not important, Davis, and no; I'm not stalking you" replied Tai

"Then how do you know my-" said Davis but was interrupted.

"I have to go now, say hello to Jun for me" he said

Taichi walked up the stairs. He hoped that Davis wouldn't follow him. He wasn't expecting him to do so. He continued walking. He was close now. He had no clue as to what to do now. He was supposed to go back home. Would they even believe him? Unlikely. He then remembered the photograph. The digivice. They would believe him then. He continued his way home. He turned the corner. His street. He truly was lost now. He made himself take the next step. He continued to do this through the remainder of the street. He got to his apartment complex. Stood there, just staring at it.

"Excuse me?" he heard a feminine voice say

He turned around. He couldn't recognize her at first. The young blonde next to her gave her away though. T.K hadn't changed. There they stood.

"Yes?"

"Can I help you?" she asked, in the sweet voice that she still possessed.

Taichi hesitated for a moment. Said,

"I'm looking for someone; he used to live in this building a long time ago"

"People come and go, Mr.-" said Kari, a soft tone in her voice.

"Redfield, I'm Chris Redfield" said Tai "and you're right, Kari, people come and go"

Their expressions changed. They took a few steps back. They were alert.

"Are you following us, what do you want?" asked Kari, fast, a demanding tone.

"I don't want anything from you, Kari, I have something for you"

"What is it?" she asked, carefully.

"I'll tell you eventually, but in the privacy of your own home"

"Not interested" said T.K

"You can come too, T.K, I think you'll also be interested in what I have to show you"

"We're not interested in what you have to show us, Mr. Redfield, and I think you should leave before I call the police"

"You're in your own right, T.K to do so" as he said this, he took out the broken digivice, tossed it into the air a few times. He hid it from view.

He had their attention now.

"Where did you get that?" T.K asked.



"I'll tell you...if we have a cup of tea first"

T.K looked over at Kari. She knew as well as he did, that the object in question, belonged to Tai. That it had gone missing. That this stranger...had somehow come in possession of it. It was a huge risk. They had no idea who he was. Why he had the digivice. Finally, Kari broke the silence that had settled between the three of them.

"Ok, you can come up and we can talk, under one condition"

"Yes?"

"You have to give me the digivice"

Taichi thought it over.

"Done" he replied, "but I have conditions of my own"

"Such as?" she replied.

Again he hesitated. His sister had grown up so fast. It astonished him. She really was something else.

"My only condition is that you have to believe me"

"No"

"No?" he said, confused

"You can't just ask me to believe you, whatever it is you have to say"

"I'm not asking for blind faith, whatever I say, I'll prove"

He saw Kari thinking it over. She would decide. Not T.K. She was like that.

"Ok, I can't say I'll believe you, but I'll try. How's that?"

"That's good enough, I guess"

"Come with us"

The three of them walked inside. Stepped into the elevator. It would take them 4 floors up. Towards the Kamiya residence.

"You're looking for Tai, aren't ya?"



"That's correct, T.K" he said, "you win a cookie"

Kari smiled.

"How did you know my brother" Kari asked. The elevator doors opened. They stepped out.

"I played soccer with him in high school"

"Why didn't you mention that earlier, Redfield?" she asked.

"I didn't think it was relevant"

"It would have helped your case" she said as she opened the door.

"I'm sorry, I'm not thinking straight"

They removed their shoes. Went inside.

T.K walked in first, followed by Tai, and finally Kari. She closed the door. Locked it. T.K turned the lights on. The place had changed, but not really. No one was home. That was odd. Usually his mother would be home all the time. Some things had changed.

"Would you like something to drink, Mr. Redfield?"

"Please Kari, call me Chris"

"Ok"

"I'll take whatever you have"

"Glass of orange juice?"  
He smiled.

"That's fine"

"T.K, do you want anything?"

"I'm alright, babe, thanks"

Taichi smiled.



Kari brought over his drink. He took it. Said thanks. They all sat down. Taichi on a chair facing the couple who were sitting on the love seat. Taichi took a sip of the juice. It was good. Natural. The expensive stuff from the market nearby. He'd recognize the label.

"As promised" said Tai, he took out the digivice and placed on the coffee table that separated them. He also took out a folded piece of a paper. A particular photograph they'd also be interested in.

Kari observed as he put them on the table. She didn't want to seem anxious. She waited a few seconds before taking both items. She gave the digivice to T.K and opened up the photograph. Saw the photo. She sighed,

"Why do you have these things?" she asked in a calm and collected tone of voice. She didn't seem angry but maybe she was.

"You said you'd listen"

"I will listen to you, but I want answers"

"Fair enough"

"The last time you two sat like this, that I can remember, was on a night, just like this. It was unusually cold outside, as a matter of fact, it rained that night and the night after that. Everyone was here with the exception of Mimi, Joe and Cody. I don't know why Joe and Cody didn't come. I gave you all letters. I wrote those letters to help you...to say goodbye, and to give you strength"

"Taichi wrote those in secret...I don't understand" she said, totally confused.

"I remember that I gave explicit directions in the letters, that they were addressed to each of you, and that you shouldn't under any circumstances, share what I said with one another. Kari, I remember the end of your letter. It said,

_'I've said a lot in the_ _last couple of pages. I wish that I could give you the words, the emotions a loving brother would give a loving sister. I can't. I know that I love you, but I can't express it or feel it. This is truly an empty existence. The only thing I ask of you is that you don't forget who you are. That life is bigger than us. That sometimes we have to do things which we don't understand at first, but that later on in life, we value. Live free, live well, live excellent. Your brother Tai_'

"Tai?" she said, an expression of...jubilation, of utter disbelief on her face.

Taichi took off his shades. His eyes were filled with tears. He nodded.

She got up to embrace him. It felt right. The tighter she squeezed, the more she knew it was him. Her brother. He was back. Despite the fact that he had died. Despite the fact that she had watched as they had buried him. T.K watched as Kari hugged Tai. He was the same height. Same build. His eyes were brown. His hair was black. He spoke like Tai. Taichi hugged his sister and felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. A feeling he couldn't describe. His love for his sister. 

T.K was ecstatic. He wanted to say something. Anything. Nothing came out. Finally he mustered control of his voice.

"How?"

"I don't know"

With that, Taichi sat down to explain to them the events of his last night. He told them about the bridge. The hospital. He omitted the mysterious entities that were watching him. There was no point in telling them about something he himself did not understand. He told them about Davis. He apologized to them. They had so many questions. Unfortunately, he couldn't answer them. He told them about his amnesia. They'd have to wait. Just like him. He omitted a lot of details about his story. Somehow, he felt they were things he could not tell them. They would not understand. His parents got home later that night. They had been away. The same scene was repeated. The same story told. The same questions asked. Again, no answers.T.K stayed over that night. Tai slept in the hall. His room was full of old things. He didn't sleep well that night. Too many questions. He awoke early. Headed for the kitchen. Grabbed a bowl of cereal. Just like he used too.It wasn't the same though. Nothing was the same. He was fine. As he ate, he looked over the card. The storage card. He'd look into it later. He put the card in his pocket. Kept eating. He enjoyed the silence of a happy home. He had asked something from his parents earlier in the day. He was wondering whether they'd do it. He didn't know. He had told Kari and T.K the same thing. He heard a door open. It was Kari. She joined him. They ate in silence for a while. She'd just stare at him. When he caught her doing so, she'd look into her bowl. He finally broke the silence.

"Good morning"

"Good morning"

They continued to eat.

"I had a bad dream last night"

"What about?" he asked as he slurped his bowl for the remaining milk.

"I dreamt that last night didn't happened, in fact, I was so relieved when I saw you eating cereal"

"I can see how that would be a bad dream" he said, "though it doesn't really compare"

Kari smiled. He got up. He wanted another bowl.



"I don't think any of our dreams can ever compare with _your _nightmares"

He refilled his bowl. Added the milk.

"The more I think about them, the more I'm convinced they were something else"

"Like what?" she said, stopping for a moment.

"I don't know...a sign of things to come"

"Did you...dream last night?" she asked, carefully. She knew what the answer could mean.

"Nope" he answered fast, smiling, "slept like a baby"

Kari gave him a look.

"You know what I mean, Kar"

She nodded.

They continued to eat.

"So..."

"Yeah?" she said

"Is T.K awake yet?"

She gave him a quick look, then looked away. She knew what he meant.

"Tai?"

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you say anything yesterday?"

"You mean today"

"Yeah"

"Not my business"

"What do you mean, 'it's not your business', I'm your sister"

He smiled.



"Well...first of all, I ain't your keeper. Second, Mom and Dad didn't seem to mind, so why should I? Besides, T.K's a good guy. I trust him. He wants nothing but the best for you. And besides, should something happen...he knows what's in store for him"

"You wouldn't do that to him"

"You'd be surprised what we're willing to do sometimes"

She smiled. Got up and put her bowl away. Sat right back down.

"So tell me" he said "is T.K still playing his guitar?"

Kari's expression changed. She got serious. She sighed,

"No, they both kinda...stopped playing after you died"

"Both?"

"Let's just say we have **a lot **to talk about" she replied, "how's that?"

He smiled.

"I guess that'll do"

"Tai..."

"Yeah?"

"When your amnesia goes away, you'll tell us where you've been, right?"

His expression changed.

"I don't know"

"What do you mean?"

"I've been over this myself. There must be a reason why I can't remember. What if...what if I done things...things I can't say...I don't know how I'd react to that, let alone you guys"

She stayed silent for a moment.

"You make a good point"

He nodded.

"I'd still want to know"



"Ok, I'll tell you...and the others"

"That's another thing"

"What?"

"This...all that's happened in the last couple of hours, we should be celebrating all this"

"We will"

"But why not now? I don't understand. Why don't you want to tell the others?"

"I don't want to...just approach them and have nothing to say"

"They won't care...they'll understand, and they'll be so happy"

"I want to be able to say something to them. Something more concrete"

He saw she was distraught.

"Look" he said, "it'll just be a couple of days, three at max, after that, I want you to tell them. To have them come over. We'll tell them then, Ok?"

She smiled. Nodded.

"What about T.K?" she asked

"I hope he can keep his mouth shut for a few days"

"Why would I keep my mouth shut?" asked T.K, looking like he had just gotten out of bed because...he had.

"About Tai" Kari answered

"Oh yeah, no sweat dude" said T.K

Taichi finished his second bowl. Got up to wash it. As he washed it, he asked,

"So...what's on the agenda for you two?"

"School" they both replied

"Then we'll come back here, you know, catch up" said Kari

"I see" said Tai, sucking his teeth. He knew how much she hated that.



"You?" asked T.K

He took out the card. Placed it on the table.

"I'm gonna find out where this card came from"

"Let me take a look at it" said T.K

He got the card. Stared at it for a few seconds.

"I know where this place is. It's a storage place, right?"

"I know that, T.K" said Tai

"Let me take a look at it" said Kari, as he took it from T.K

"You got something stored here, Tai?"

"That's what I aim to find out" said Tai

"So you're going there today?"

"Yup" said Tai, " I think you guys are running late"

Kari took a look at the time

"Damn, we _are_ running late"

With that, the younger digi-destined disappeared, only to re-appear moments later, in uniform, ready for school.

"Is any one taking you to school or do you guys walk"

"We'll have to walk" answered T.K "Matt isn't around"

"No?" asked Tai

"No, he's at my uncle's, doing something, don't really know, he'll get back in a couple of days"

"Bye Tai" said Kari

"Not bye, see you later" said Tai.

He waved to them as they ran out the door.



With that, he was alone. He thought about changing. Smiled. He had no other clothes...other than the strange suit he had on. He'd wear that again. He got up to change. Took a shower. With his clothes back on, he hit the street. Took a look at the time. He was doing that a lot nowadays. The sense of time. Where he was, where he was going. It seem strangely important. Dispersing his thoughts, he took off.

He got to the place. It was a regular storage bin business. Just like any other. Hopefully, they would provide a clue as to what he did here. He walked in, the place was empty. Behind a desk, sat a pretty little receptionist. About his age, maybe younger. He took off his Ray-Bans. Walked over to the desk. She looked up. She smiled, asked,

"Can I...help you with something?"

"I should hope so" said Tai, continued, "I was wondering if I had something stored here"

She looked up. Spoke slowly,

"You...were wondering if you had something stored here?"

"Yeah"

"Your name?"

"Taichi Kamiya"

She searched their database for it.

"Sorry sir, but we've got no records of you ever storing anything here"

"No?"

"No"

Tai stood there for a moment. Said,

"Can I speak with your supervisor?"

"I don't see how that would help you, sir, he'll say the same thing"

"Please"

"That's fine. Please give me a minute"

Tai walked off to the side. His name wasn't in the database. At first, he thought such a thing was odd, but he wasn't thinking straight. He'd been dead. It was entirely possible that _one _of the other 

names was in their database. He'd have to guess the correct name. He was still thinking when the supervisor showed up.

"Excuse sir, you seem to have a problem?"

"Yes, I've been trying to get some information. To no success"

"Obviously"

"Yeah, so,..."

"Sir" said the supervisor, a man in drab clothing, a blazer with the company logo "I spoke with my colleague. If your name's not in the database, then you have nothing stored here. If you liked to get something-"

"-No"

"Sir-"

"-I'd like to try a different name"

"I'm sorry sir, we don't-"

"-Chris Redfield"

The supervisor opened his mouth but became quiet. Taichi was also quiet.

"Did you say 'Chris Redfield'"

"Yeah"

"Do you have your key, sir?"

"Yeah" he replied, taking out the key-card he found in his wallet.

"Come with me"

They walked off. Towards the storage bins. The place was drafty. The lighting, dim. Taichi walked slowly, carefully to listen to his footsteps which gave no sound. He could only hear the supervisor's shoes constant shuffle. Tai spoke,

"When did I first come here?"

The supervisor thought for a moment, said,



"You came here 3 years ago, nearly to the day, just once though, then we never saw you again, you looked somewhat different"

"Ok" said Tai, continued, "what did I store in there?"

"What everyone stores, sir, boxes and stuff you can't keep at home"

"Anyone else have access to it?"

"Yes, but they never removed anything from the premises. Company policy, rather in your case, they added things to the bin"

"I see" said Tai, "how many people?"

"Can't recall" the supervisor replied "this is it"

They had stopped at a usual bin. Nothing unusual about it. Nothing special. Totally conspicuous.

Tai was about to open the bin. He stopped.

"Why'd you change your mind?"

"Something about that name of yours, seems a bit odd, to tell you the truth, I don't really know"

Taichi nodded. Opened the locker. Turned the lights on. Just like he said, boxes and clothing. A few things here and there. In the corner he saw a couple of footlockers. Besides those, a few guitar cases.

"Who paid for all this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't...recall paying for storage"

"We deduct the fee from a bank account you have" said the supervisor, added, "You don't check your statement?"

"To tell you the truth, I can't really remember, I have amnesia. The only reason I'm here is because of this" said Tai, brandishing the key-card.

The supervisor nodded.

_He said he wouldn't remember a thing. I should have believed him. _Despite this, he wasn't about to remind him who he was. He'd already crossed Chris Redfield once. He wasn't about to do it again.



"Well this is it" he said. He wondered whether Chris would remember him. He hoped not.

"Is there any way you can move these items to a location of my choice and then move some items from said location back here?" A long question. A short answer.

"Sure. No problem"

"Can you deduct the cost from my account?"

"Of course"

"Just one more question" said Tai

"Yes?"

"You were reluctant to help me, till you heard my name. You've answered every single question I've asked you, you seem to remember me very well, have we met?"

"Sort of..." he replied, "let's just say you left quite an impression on us"

Taichi didn't respond. He stared at his things and skimmed them over. He rode with the moving crew towards his apartment and watched them as they moved the dusty objects in his room towards the truck, while the others moved his things in. He didn't know what to make of anything. Instead of getting answers, his day ended only with more questions. He turned the lights off in his room. Sat in the dark. Just like back then.

_'I made a choice'_

**AN**: So, that was chapter 5, it was supposed to be longer but I decided to cut it off and insert the rest in the next chapter, which shouldn't take me that long to write. Thank you and have a wonderful day/night. The Writer.


	6. An Answer

**AN: **This is chapter 6, part 1. Warning: This chapter is very long, I know some people don't like that, but I have no other choice. Please read, enjoy and review if you must. It took a while to update, but here it is. Chapter 6, part 2 will be up almost immediately after this one, I wrote both of them, back to back. Once again, Enjoy. The Writer.

_Session 6 -An Answer-_

_Part 1_

_3 days later..._

His station came up. He raised his head. The announcement came up again. He got up. Gave up his seat to someone else. The last 3 days, he'd been living in a state of twilight. Now, he'd find his place. He wasn't sure what to expect. He got out of the train and made his way onto the surface. A typical day, for anyone. Even for him. Of course, a lot had changed. He'd learned about the "breakouts". He didn't think they were capable of that. At first, he was surprised, but as he thought about it, the shock subsided. Anything was possible. He was living proof of that.

He let his body lead him. He wasn't in a hurry. He'd get some answers soon. It was the only thing he wanted now. But he wasn't in a hurry. Taichi stood at a light. Less than a block away there was a restaurant. A very reputable restaurant. He was supposed to meet _him _there. The light turned green. The masses moved. He moved. It wasn't early in the day, but it wasn't noon just yet. He wondered just what time it was...

_'....10:42 a.m...'_

He looked at his watch. A fancy, odd looking Bvlgari. 10:42 a.m. All day, he had been doing that. Every single time, he was right. He didn't know why, but that wasn't important.

She didn't know why she'd come in that day. She put on her white apron, tied her hair into a bun. Stared into the mirror. She was the same. Different...but the same. This time of year, that's all that went through her head. She was the same. A lot had changed. Time does away with all pain. They say that, but it's not really true. This time of year, she knew what pain was...

None of it had been her fault...right?

She'd been trying to convince herself ever since...

Matt was no help...his letter was...just like hers...

He'd gone off the deep end. She still stood by his side.

Helpless. Ever since that day....she was helpless...

She'd lost him...she almost lost Matt afterwards....

All she could do was watch his downward spiral...hoping, praying it wouldn't end the way Tai's did.

She waited a few tables, a fake smile, a nice, polite tone. There were 3 waiters. All of them female. They worked the morning shift. The breakfast crowd, the late breakfast crowd and lunch. There was a lull. She went to the bathroom, washed her face. Stared into the mirror. It wasn't going away. She felt just as guilty as he made her out to be.

Taichi used to have such an effect on her. She could no longer describe the way she'd feel around him. It was...almost euphoric. On her own, she was brave. With him, she was invincible. She loved that. At the same time, she knew he was mortal. She knew he could cry. She knew he could bleed. He didn't care. Tai was Tai. The end was different. Tai was no longer the source of those wonderful memories. Those emotions. He was a single memory. A single emotion.

Pain.

Loss.

Failure.

Regret.

Guilt.

This is what Tai had become to Sora. She desired so much to forget. She wanted freedom. She wanted a lot of things. These memories carried nothing but pain now. She leaned against the wall and slowly slid down on it. She was overwhelmed. As she cried softly, she could hear the knocking on the door. She wanted to get up. Wanted to open up that door. She stared at that door. She dried her tears. Got up and looked at herself in the mirror. Cleaned herself up as best as she could. She turned around and walked to the door. It would all go away. The week would end. The pain would go away. She opened the door. Found Ikami, one of her work friends waiting across the door. Ikami stared at her. Sora stared back.

"You OK?" she asked, no tone in her voice whatsoever.

Sora nodded. She stepped aside as Ikami went inside the bathroom. Sora didn't know how long she'd been waiting. It felt like hours. The weight of everything. It seemed to mess with them all. They all acted strange around this time. She went outside and tended to a few more customers. She'd only been in the bathroom for a few minutes. As she did her job, customer after customer, she thought about them all. Thought about the breakouts. There was no call. No cry for help. She didn't understand why. Neither did Izzy. None of them knew what had happened. The media reported what they could. A version of the truth. The real truth would not be known. She thought about Joe.

Joe was in New York, around the same time as the breakout that took place there.

He came back differently. She never saw him cry. He never lost it. Even when it was taking place, Joe was simply there. Mimi also changed. On the outside, she was the same. Mimi was also there. Right smack in the middle of Manhattan as the breakout began. When the quarantine was over, she went back home. Sora never asked her what she'd seen. She knew of the stories. They could not be true.

Mimi never spoke a word about what she'd seen. Sora went on to the next table.

Taichi saw her coming. He spotted her a long time ago. This was not a coincidence. Bruce was trying to prove a point. Taichi was a ghost. Not even his closest friends could recognize him now. Taichi knew this. Then again, why would they be looking for a dead man?

He smiled as he thought about this.

Despite the fact that she walked at a normal pace, Taichi saw everything in slow motion. He took her in. Saw every single detail of her shirt. The color of her hair, which was a deeper red now, and her eyes. They had changed. She had been crying. He wondered why. She was right by his table. A single moment. He wanted to tell her why. He wanted to tell her everything. Then reality came stumbling back. He remembered. Remembered everything she'd caused. Everything she'd done...and yet, he felt nothing. No resentment. No hatred. Nothing at all.

"Can I take your order?" she asked, she sounded the same, a little older, more years to her voice, but no change in pitch or tone.

He stared at her. Said nothing, Took off his Aviators. His hereto-chromatic eyes surprised her. No doubt they brought memories flooding back. But he was no one to her.

"I'll have some O.J and eggs over easy" he surprised himself as he said all this.

"OK, anything else?"

"Not at all"

She turned around. Started walking back towards the kitchen. Turned back towards him.

"Excuse me"

"Yes?" he asked, a thin smile on his face.

"I don't want to sound odd, but...have we met?"

"Met?"

"Yeah, it's like...I don't know, what do they call it?"

He thought for a moment. Humoring her. He knew exactly what they called it.

"Deja Vu?"

"Yeah, I can't help but feel we've met somewhere before"

"I doubt it"

"It's just that...you remind me of someone"

"Really?"

"A friend I used to know"

His smile faded. She used the correct words...

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said, 'used to know'"

"He...left, went away, you know?"

"I guess..." said Tai, thinking about what she said, how she said it, added,

"I had a friend like that too"

"Had?"

"Yeah"

She gave him a look. A "what-happened?-I-want-to-know" look.

"She left too. I kind of saw it coming, but...I didn't do anything"

"Why not?"

"Don't really know. When I find out...I'll let you know"

Sora nodded.

A sign of a man avoiding a question. Maybe he was telling the truth. Sora didn't really know.

She turned around and headed for the kitchen. The whole conversation had lasted a minute. Maybe two. A man sat across Tai. He looked like Tai, was dressed in the exact same clothes, yet at the same time, he looked different.

"A sign of a man avoiding a question"

Taichi looked at him. Nodded.

"I guess so"

"So what's the answer?"

"No answer. Not yet"

The man nodded. He felt comfortable with that answer. It was all he'd get Tai to say about that.

"Hello, Bruce" said Tai, a smile on his face.

"Hello, Tai, sorry I was out of town, I was working"

"Yeah, I got the message from Brian"

"Good, glad he's back"

"I guess"

"But that's not really important, is it, Tai?"

"No"

"So what is...important to you, Tai?"

"Answers"

"What are the questions?"

"You know the questions, just as well as I do"

Bruce nodded.

"Fair enough" he said and remained quiet.

"You know, for a moment there, I thought you were just a voice inside my head"

"I'd said we'd meet"

"Didn't really think that would happen"

"Here we are, Tai"

"Why me?"

"That question"

Taichi said nothing.

"Fair enough, Tai" he repeated.

"I could give you an impressive amount of reasons, all valid, as to why this happened to you, but it doesn't matter, not to you, and not to me, because here you are"

"That's it?"

Bruce shrugged.

"That's all I got"

Taichi said nothing.

"It's umm... not the life-changing answer you were expecting, but it is valid, whatever reasons, it was a choice, and you made it, remember?"

"You're right"

Bruce nodded.

"You did what you did, because you wanted freedom, Tai, and you got it, you paid a heavy price for it, but you didn't seem to mind. You did what you did because you wanted purpose. You got that too. You wanted an escape. There are a lot of things in life we want, some of them you get, and others you don't, but you know _all _about that, don't you?"

Taichi stared at him. Said nothing.

"You gave me an answer, Bruce"

Bruce shrugged.

"You said it didn't matter"

"Sometimes it does" said Bruce in response.

"So what happens now?" asked Tai

"You're at that cross-roads, you have to decide. You've been given a chance to return. A wasted opportunity, because I don't think you will. You left this place, without a single care in the world. You hurt a lot of people but that didn't stop you. You did what you wanted to, is that selfish? Doesn't matter if it is or not, because you have to decide. To return or continue"

"Continue?"

"Do you want your memories back, Tai, or would you rather cut your losses and pick up your life where you last left off?

"My life...where it stopped? No, that ended. Everything fell apart. No, I want my memories. I don't want to feel empty inside anymore"

"That's not really a choice for you anymore...you gave that up, the moment you stopped being human"

"What do you mean?"

"That sense of emptiness....that'll disappear, but like I said, it's not really your choice anymore"

"What do you mean, I'm not human?"

"The way we define the characteristics of humans,...it no longer applies to us"

"So what are we? Are we..." Taichi stopped mid-sentence, looked around, "Digimon?"

Bruce smiled.

"No, they are worse than their creators. They are short-sighted, and have no self control"

Taichi stared at Bruce. He continued,

"We are...something else"

"What?"

"I don't know, I've never really thought about the nature of our existence....names only exist to differentiate one from another. There doesn't exist anything like us out there, so there is no name"

"I see"

"This is important, though. We are a necessary evil upon this world. A contingency, should they fail. Time proved our existence to be required, for they failed"

"Who did?"

Bruce looked over his shoulder, Sora was coming.

"They did"

Sora reached over to the table and saw the new arrival.

"Hello there, how can I help you?" she said, again faking that smile of hers. Bruce saw right through her act. He could see she was hurting. She demonstrated no signs of pain, no signals of anything wrong with her, but she couldn't hide her pain from Bruce. It was their gift. But Bruce felt no sympathy for her plight. His friendship with Taichi was no factor. His personal experiences didn't clash with his emotions either. Bruce felt nothing for her. It was his choice.

Bruce realized he hadn't said anything.

"I won't have anything to eat, but I'll have some orange juice like my friend here"

"OK" Sora replied and scribbled something down on her pad.

"Is everything else here OK?

It was Tai's turn to answer.

"Yes, everything is fine"

She nodded. Turned around. Left...

"What do you mean, they failed?" asked Tai, a little angry now.

"The nature of our existence, is to maintain the balance, Tai. The purpose of the digi-destined was to defeat evil, protect the digital world and create a new harmony amongst the created and it's creators"

Bruce stopped. Waited for an interruption. Taichi said nothing. An indication of agreement, of common ground. Maybe it wasn't that at all...perhaps it was just Tai thinking up a good counter-argument...Bruce didn't know. Reading Tai was a difficult task. He continued,

"The destruction of evil is an exercise in futility. Evil lies in the created, just like it lies in the creators. The desire to control, to overpower, to kill, to satisfy one's purpose. This cannot be taken from man. How can you expect to remove this from Digimon? You, who at the time were just children?"

Taichi said nothing.

"During that time, you suffered from the idealism of youth. Now you know better. You've seen the grim reality of our world. You understand the goals of our existence, Tai. We maintain the balance of power. When it became necessary to use force, we did not shy away. We were not intimidated. We do not strive for peace. Such a thing is impossible. Conflict is the driving force of our existence. We simply desire balance"

"We were young, maybe idealistic, but we fought, one battle at a time, with the clear knowledge that there would always be a next battle. We didn't have any grand plans. It's true we wanted peace. It's true we wanted to defeat evil. But we weren't arrogant about it. We fought for the same things everyone fights for, the right to exist, the will to be free, the desire to have a chance. We didn't fail, we achieved those goals, at least, momentarily"

"I will not deny that your intentions were noble. They were futile, but noble. What you failed to understand was the future"

Sora at that moment showed up with the drink. Left it at the table and left. One fast motion.

"The future?"

"That the same problems that plagued mankind in the past would come to repeat themselves on the created"

"Problems...like what?"

"The desire of control. The value of war as a means of settling disputes. The loss of innocence"

"The Digimon don't behave this way"

"How do you explain the breakouts, Tai?"

Taichi said nothing. There was no comeback to that.

"You were right, though, the Digimon didn't used to behave like this, that was our fault, they inherited these traits from us, so it's only natural they developed them"

He was right. Taichi knew this.

"Tell me, Tai, what happens when two intelligent species, with goals similar to those I've just described, try to co-exist?"

This had been a thought experiment. An easy answer by logic. A difficult choice to accept. Never before had something like this crossed his mind. Taichi did the math. He was no fool. He came to the same conclusion. It was the end, to which, everyone came to. A single answer to this particular thought experiment.

Conflict.

The question was, what kind of conflict?

Taichi would ask him later.

He tried to think of another way. A more peaceful solution. There was none.

Taichi gave no answer. It was unnecessary. Bruce knew what he was thinking. He knew that Tai had arrived at the only conclusion possible.

"I can't believe that. I have to believe we can co-exist. Peace is reality"

Bruce nodded in disappointment. He couldn't come to terms with reality just yet. That didn't matter. Taichi had already seen the truth. All he had to do was realize it.

"Tai, if such a thing were real, if harmony and peace could be achieved, then I'd be out of a job"

They both smiled. Different reasons, but they both smiled.

"No Tai" said Bruce, as he drank a considerable amount of orange juice. "This..."

Bruce sighed. A realization of the obvious. An expression of acceptance. Of defeat.

"This is the truth...

What they can't see and...

What we're burdened with..."

Taichi nodded. It was the truth...the same truth he had struggled with throughout his time in isolation. The lesson he had to learn. He was supposed to be here. The next step was simple. Taichi ate what was left of his meal. Bruce drank the rest of his juice. It was natural, almost felt freshly squeezed. The digi-destined hadn't failed. They were merely a stop-loss measure. Something temporary. Something was wrong. A critical element of the story was missing. His memories. It was there. They'd come back.

Bruce took a look at his watch. The same, fancy Bvlgari. He picked up his briefcase. Taichi hadn't even noticed it. He took out a manila enveloped. Opened it carefully.

"The following belong to you"

He handed Tai legal documents. Birth certificate. A death certificate that indicated Tai had been declared dead after being missing.

"Missing? I wasn't missing"

"No, but as far as the government knows, you were"

Tai nodded.

Bruce went into his pockets.

Handed Tai an odd looking phone. It's glow changed from blue to green to red and then back again.

Taichi took it. On the screen it had a picture of Tai, Matt and Sora. Which was odd. The picture was old. They were all young. He figured Matt was a little older, but still the same. Sora was the same. There was no doubt about that. He looked like nothing like his picture. It made him smile for a second. Just a second.

The phone had a few contacts. Some he knew. His friends. Others were unknown to him.

That didn't matter. Bruce looked at his watch again. He had to go. Taichi asked for the check. Sora showed up fast enough. She seemed better. He'd find out what was bugging her. In time. Bruce paid the bill. Left her a decent tip. More than usual. They both got up and left. Tai with the manila envelope in hand. Bruce, with the briefcase. They walked for a while till they got to a car. A late model, red BMW M6. It had been modified. The paint job was immaculate. It seemed to change colors when the light hit it from different angles. Tai stood in front of it. Bruce made no signs of opening the car. He had the keys in his hands. Played with the key-chain. It was one of those cheap, souvenirs from New York. Maybe Tai had been there.

"Tai, you want your memories back?"

Tai said nothing. Just stared into the car.

"I have a task for you, the first of many. Get your letters back. All 12 of them. The beginning is there. The first one is in the car. You'll figure out the message when you've got them all. I'm sure you'll be successful, after all, you should be able to get them back."

Taichi nodded. As he did that, a car pulled up behind the M6. An old American classic. Taichi didn't know what kind of car it was.

"It's an old Chevelle, Tai" said Bruce, answering his unspoken question. He started walking towards the American classic. Turned around and threw the keys at Tai. He caught them.

"What do I do with this?"

A dumb question. It was obvious what he had to do.

"Whatever the hell you want, Tai. It's your car, anyway"

Bruce got in and the car sped off. Taichi got a quick glimpse of the driver. It was a girl.

Taichi opened the car. The chirp of the alarm went off. The doors opened. He got in the driver's side. Which was on the wrong side. It was on the left. One of his letters was on the passenger's side. A yellow Post-It note that said "Mimi" was on the heavy leather bounded folder that protected the 20 something pages that made it up. It was the beginning. The first letter he wrote. The hardest to retrieve. After his death, that letter traveled halfway around the world. Somebody had taken the trouble to make sure it made its way back to him. He thought about Mimi. The fact that he had Mimi's letter meant something. He knew where he'd go next.

He still knew his way around the place. Traffic was a problem at this hour but that didn't matter. There was no rush. He crossed Rainbow Bridge with a smile. The car was a testament to German engineering at it's best. With the sun in his face, he pulled down the visor. It was Matt, Sora and himself. He remembered the photo. His sister snapped it after a soccer game. It was one of the best days of his young life. It all seemed so far away now. What happened to all his dreams? His plans? They were all taken way from him. None of that mattered. There was no regret. No sadness. It was all gone, and he no longer cared. He got to his destination. Found a parking lot far away from the college. Walked the rest of the way. He saw the masses. Everyone with someplace to be, and a life to live. Not him. The University of Tokyo is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. While he had heard from Kari that Joe had traveled abroad for some of his studies, he knew he'd find him here. Joe would be easier to talk to. He'd face his friends, all of them, later, but he had to see Joe now. He could trust him.

He walked around a bit. He sat on a bench and smiled for a bit. Put on his Ray Bans. He spotted Joe in the distance. He had on Khaki Dockers, though he wasn't really sure. A formal white long-sleeved shirt and a tie that seemed to cost more than the entire ensemble. His glasses were different. His hair was the same. A weird shade of blue. Tai took out his new phone. He found Joe. Dialed his number. He saw him bow, excusing himself away from the group of students he was talking to.

"Hello?"

"Hello Joe"

"Who's this?"

"I'm at your side, Joe, look by the benches"

"Who is this?" he asked, a more demanding tone in his voice.

"Can't you recognize the voice of a dead man?"

Joe looked around. There were students everywhere. He looked to the benches. There was a man, dressed in black, a white shirt, sun-glasses, and a phone pressed to his ear.

"I see you"

"That's the idea, Joe"

"I'm hanging up now, I don't know if this your idea of a joke but it's not-"

"_' I remember seeing a young boy...so long ago, so much potential. You're holding back, Joe. You've always held back. Someday, you'll see who you really are''_

Joe hanged up. Walked towards the man with the phone. There was no fear in his stride. No trembling. It wasn't like Joe. Like Kari said, Joe was different. He sat down beside Tai. Stared at the crowds himself. Didn't say a word.

"Hello Joe"

Joe sighed.

"Hello Tai"

"You don't seem surprised to see me"

"In my nightmares, you're still alive"

"What does that man, Joe?" asked Tai, looking at him now.

"You're dead, Tai, I carried your casket. This can't be real"

"What do you want me to say, Joe?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all"

There was silence for just a moment. A single moment. Taichi spoke,

"You survived a breakout, a lot of people didn't"

Joe looked right at him now. There was something in his eyes. It seemed like a hint of regret, or guilt. Tai didn't know which.

"I don't want to talk about that"

"All right, let's talk about something else"

They nodded. One after the other.

"You're not at all curious, how this happened, why I'm still alive, anything?"

"Not really, life is short, there comes a point where you have to stop asking questions and simply accept things"

"Is that from the letter?"  
"Yeah, a little bit"

Taichi smiled. Joe smiled back.

"How are things, Joe?"

"The same they've always been, since you got sick, not good"

Tai nodded.

"When did you get back?"

"What do you mean?" asked Tai, a smile on his face. He knew that Joe had figured it out. It was something no one had thought of yet. Something no one had asked.

"You didn't come back from the dead, Tai, that's impossible, which means, you didn't really die, which means you've been someplace else."

"That's good, Joe, who taught you how to do that?

"You wouldn't believe me now, but I think it was you"

"Me?" said Tai, curious, "I can't remember that"

"That's OK"

"Don't ask me where I've been, Joe"

"You can't remember, can you?"

Tai said nothing.

"You have amnesia"

"Is that a definitive diagnosis, Dr.?"

Joe smiled.

"It doesn't take a doctor to figure that one out"

"I guess so"

"Take off those fancy Ray-Bans"

Tai complied.

"You've still got the eyes, funny, I was kinda expecting they'd be brown"

"I think these are permanent"

"So" said Tai, more energy in his voice, "still studying to become an M.D, huh?"

"That's good, Tai, you said M.D, not doctor"

"It's the proper term, right?"

"Right" Joe looked down to the floor, saw his shoes, brightly polished loafers.

"I'm a little disappointed" he said all of a sudden

"Disappointed with what?" asked Tai, who was now curious.

"I'm trying to be a doctor, cause I want to save lives, help people, and that's pretty hard, but it's so easy to do the opposite, you know? Sometimes I think, what's the point? I can't change anything. That's not the way doctors think, you know? So, I might not be cut out for this..."

"If it was me, I'd quit, but that's not you, so...the only thing I can tell you is, if you love your work, do it, if you don't, quit. Don't do it for any other reasons, not for the prestige, or for honor, those things aren't important. As to, whether you're cut out for it or not, that doesn't exist, it's a job, that's all, there's no right state of mind, you either do it well or you don't"

Joe said nothing. He stopped staring at his shoes. Stared at the sky instead.

"Too rough?" asked Tai, another smile on his face.

"A little" answered Joe as they both laughed.

"What happened to us, Tai?"

"We got old, that's all, nothing else has changed. Everything's the same, but not really, you know?"

"No, I don't"

"Well, that's all I've got, Joe"

"So why did you decide to find me first, Tai?"

"Don't know" said Tai, thinking about it, "felt right"

"OK"

"I have something to ask of you"

"Sure, what's up?"

"I need the letter back"

Joe thought for a moment.

"OK, it's yours anyway, you wrote it"

"In fact, I'm gonna need all the letters back"

"That might be a problem"

Taichi looked at him.

"The others, well, I don't think they'll say anything, but Matt and Sora, that's another story"

"How come?"

"I don't know what you wrote in their letters, but they're not letting those go"

Tai nodded, thinking.

"I know what I wrote, Joe. I'll get those letters back, trust me"

"All right"

"My sister's gonna call you, if she hasn't called you already"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah" repeated Tai

"She won't tell you what for, but just agree, yeah?"

"All right" he said again.

"So...what for?"

Taichi smiled. Didn't say anything. Looked at his watch.

He had all the time in the world.

He got up.

Joe stared at him.

"Got someplace to be?"

"Not really why?"

"Nothing"

"Figured out how you're gonna get those letters yet?"

"I've got an idea or two" replied Tai, "We'll see how it works out"

It was Joe's turn to look at his watch. It was simple LED watch. The time scrolled back and forth. He was late.

"How'd you get here, Tai?"

Tai smiled.

"Need a ride somewhere?"

"Yeah"

"Let's go"

Joe got up from his chair.

They walked the long distance to the car. Talking about Joe's classes. Taichi was interested to here what Joe had been up to.

"So who else knows you're here?" he asked as he got in the car.

"You, Kari, my folks, and T.K. I saw Davis on the subway. Didn't say anything"

"I see"

Tai started the car. He'd grown to love the silent start feature on the car. He put the car in gear. Drove out of the parking lot. Headed back to Odaiba.

"Where you going, Joe?"

"My brother's, you know where it is, right?"

"Yeah, I remember"

They drove in silence for a while.

"Not gonna ask where I got the car from?"

"Do you know where the car's from?"

"Germany" said Tai

Joe smiled, shook his head. Tai smiled too. He liked that joke. He was going to use it a lot.

"That's not what I meant, Tai, I mean, how'd you get this car?"

"Honestly?"

"Yeah"

"Someone just gave it to me, but it is mine, got a pink slip and everything"

"All right"

Joe stared out the window. Taichi didn't know whether Joe believed him or not. Didn't care. It was the truth.

After a few turns, a little waiting in traffic, they got there. Jim's place wasn't a big deal. A simple apartment. A bachelor pad. A stepping stone into another stage in life. It was all this and about a million other little things but Tai didn't care. It was insignificant to him. It seems he wanted something more. He'd get it. Whether he realized it or not. They stayed in the car for a while. Didn't say a word. Joe spoke.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Drop you off, go home, eat, sleep, go to Sora's"

"Sora's"

"Yeah, get my letter back, one way or another"

"That's your plan?"

"It's the best I've got"

Joe got out of the car. Went to the left side. Tai lowered his window.

"Better keep working on that, I don't think it'll be that easy"

"We'll see"

He put the car back in drive. Sped off...he'd do exactly as he said.

Joe saw him leave. Smiled. He'd get his car back from his brother.

His cell rang.

He look at the screen. A familiar name.

"Hello?"

**AN: **I had to cut chapter right here, cause the next part is also kind of long. Hoped you enjoyed it. Questions, comments, and reviews, I will freely answer, but you have to review the chapter in order for that to happen. Food for thought. The Writer.


	7. The Reunion

**AN: **This is the Writer. This is the second part of Session 6, which is also a tad long. Enjoy and review, if you feel the need. Session 7 will be up....soon. I have a hazy idea of what comes next, but hazy isn't exactly a good thing in this line of work, is it? Don't despair, please enjoy the moment. The Writer.

_Session 6 - The Reunion-_

_Part 2_

He got home fairly quick. Ate fairly quick. He could tell his mom wanted to know where he'd been all day. He'd tell her later. He marched into his room. Still early. Way early. A nap would do him good. He had to be refreshed to talk to Sora later on. He went to sleep.

Everything was different.

Nothing was the same.

Even his dream seemed to manifest his new outlook. These dream, one could almost call them nightmares...they were different. They weren't manifestations of terror whose purpose were to drive him insane. These dreams seemed like events. Memories of a former life. He wasn't really sure what they were. He woke up, weak and disoriented, a blinding headache. Took a look at the time. It was late.

He got up, put his clothes on, another suit, similar to the one he wore earlier on. He looked at himself in the mirror. A different suit, but the same look. He felt it was appropriate. He grabbed his car keys. His phone. There was no one home. Kari was...out. He didn't know where she was, didn't care either.

He stepped outside. Looked at the sky. He'd been doing that a lot lately. It was nearly dark. He went downstairs into the parking lot. Looked at the picture in the visor. He'd get rid of it later. He took off. No worries. There was no deadline. The only problem would be Sora's father. He wasn't worried, but he'd be cautious. He got there reasonably quick. He sat in the car for a moment. Mentally preparing himself. He got out of the car. Went towards the apartment buildings' doors. Hit the buzzer labeled, "Takenouchi".

"Yes?"

"Is this Mr. Takenouchi?"

"This is Taichi Kamiya, I need to speak with you"

There was no noise. The doors's light went green. He went inside. The lobby was the same. The guard was the same. He said nothing to him. The guard made no attempt to stop him. He walked up to the elevator. The doors shut. The muzak was nice. It made him feel at ease. Sora's father wasn't exactly the easiest person to talk to. Twelfth floor. Sora's floor. He stepped out and went ahead to her apartment door. He wanted to knock but he didn't get that chance. Sora's father opened the door immediately.

He gave Tai a sweeping look.

Up and down, analyzing him, and studying him. He would eventually get to know everything that happened.

"You gonna come in?" He was trying to sound like he was in control. He wasn't.

Tai knew that. Stared at him. Sized him up. It had been a long day for Haruhiko Takenouchi. He could see that.

He nodded it. Took off his shoes. Threw them in a corner. The place was a mess. That was Sora's father. They were polar opposites. Her mother and father. He dispelled such thoughts as to how they stayed together.

"What are you doing here, son?"

Taichi sighed. This would not be easy.

"I'm here...because I once wrote something to your daughter, I'd like said letter back"

"I know of the letter you speak of, I read it once"

"Does Sora know about that?"

"I neglected to tell her that, as her father, I have to protect her, sometimes I can, sometimes I can't"

"I see"

No reason to stoke the fire. Not yet.

Taichi looked around as Mr. Takenouchi sat on the couch. Tai leaned against the wall. They were close but at a reasonable distance.

"So...where's the missus?"

Haruhiko smiled. The look of a man playing eight moves ahead. Taichi knew this.

"Out...don't know where exactly, but she'll be back soon, that much I know"

Taichi nodded.

"Just the same" he said, "I think you should leave before she arrives, she's not as forgiving as I am"

Tai said nothing.

"You read the letter"

Haruhiko nodded.

"Why forgive me so easily?"

Haruhiko furrowed his brow. The look of a man thinking.

"You said a lot of hurtful things to my daughter. She still cried for you, despite all you said. Everything you wrote, there were the words of a desperate man, trying to justify his own existence. You wrote in anger. I don't think you meant any of it"

"At the time, I did"

"Do you mean them now?"

"I'm not so sure"

"I see"

Haruhiko got off the couch. Motioned Tai to join him. They walked towards the kitchen. Tai sat at the tabled. Observed Haruhiko lean down and grabbed something from his fridge.

"Beer?"

Tai smiled.

"I have to drive"

He nodded.

He stood upright. Closed the refrigerator door. One beer. Sat across from Tai and opened it. Tai smelled the odor. Paid no attention to it. He looked at his watch.

"Where is she?"

"She's sleeping"

"I'm going to see her eventually, you know that, right?"

He took a drink. A long hard chug.

"I know" replied Haruhiko, "she's had a rough day as well, this time of year, she's not so good"

"I see"

"I think that might have something to do with you"

"I sincerely hope not"

They both nodded. A moment of silence. Mr. Takenouchi drank from his beer. Tai glanced at his watch.

"Be honest with me, Tai, why'd you do it?"

Tai breathed in. Deep and smooth.

"I don't know where I've been, what I've done, but I know why I did what I did. I made a choice. A choice I'm going to have to live with. I want them to understand too, but I don't know if they will"

There was silence.

"How long have you been practicing that?"

"A while now, did I rush it?"

"No"

"I thought I rushed it"

"It was good Tai" said Haruhiko as they both smiled.

"Does that scare you, Tai?"

"Does what scare me?"

"Whether they'll understand or not"

"I just want them to know what's going on, I don't want to keep them in the dark anymore. I don't know what to say to them, but I don't want to keep them out like this"

"Sora got a call from your sister a few hours ago, and I don't think she's up for that right now"

"I'd really appreciate it if you managed to convince her otherwise"

"I'm not making any promises"

Tai nodded.

Haruhiko drank from his beer.

"What if they...don't understand?"

A sign of a man playing eight moves ahead.

Tai smiled.

"It doesn't matter. Life will go on, whether they understand or not, whether they are my friends or not, after all, _there are no happy endings...just-"_

_"-just endings" _said Haruhiko

Taichi smiled

"I read that particular part of your letter with great interest, and I sincerely hope you don't still believe that, it was never true"

Tai said nothing. Haruhiko observed him.

This Tai was different. No longer that fun, carefree boy who only wanted to play soccer. The boy who wanted his life to be simple. The boy his daughter had admired for so many years. This man was different. Cold and analytical. Completely rational and at the same time, totally insane. Haruhiko got up. Taichi stood up as well.

"Taichi, please wait for me here, I'll be right back"

Tai sat right back down. Haruhiko left the kitchen.

Taichi thought about what the old man had said.

Did he still believe that?

Absolutely.

He wanted freedom. He wanted purpose. These things he got. He had no desire to be rational. Not when it came to this.

He knew this to be true.

Haruhiko came back with the letter. It was almost 50 pages in total, in a leather folder, with a strap to enclose it.

"I'm giving you this...cause I honestly believe these words were written out of desperation, that things will be different, and that for some reason, you need this. I hope that I'm right"

Tai took the letter and opened it. Saw the first pages. Closed it back up. Looked at his watch.

"I know you have to go, Tai, you've been staring at that watch of yours for quite some time."

Tai nodded. Got up and took the letter in his hands.

They walked out towards the door.

"Listen, Tai, you made a choice. She made a choice. You're going to live with that choice, just like she is, I hope that you can be rational about this and understand, understand that those words aren't true"

Taichi looked down at his shoes, then looked at the door,

"That particular choice she made...destroyed my life. It sounds like an exaggeration, but it's not. Everything I could have been. Everything I should have been. That's all gone. You're right. She made a choice. I got what I wanted, so it doesn't matter anymore. Thank you for understanding, and thank you for the letter. I'll be in touch"

Tai grabbed his shoes and stepped outside.

Haruhiko closed the door behind Tai.

"Who was that?"

He turned around to see his daughter, in wrinkled work clothes. She'd only just woke up.

"An old friend"

"He didn't look old" she replied

"No?" he said as he smiled, his smile died and his face changed.

"Sora, about Kari's call..."

"Whatever it is, it can wait, I don't need any more drama from Kari, I'd just want to go to sleep, go to work and wait for this month to end"

Her father nodded.

He stared into space, thinking. She didn't know what to say.

"Maybe you should go...maybe it'll be different"

"What makes you say that?"

"Gut feeling, that's all"

He walked away from her, into the kitchen.

Would she forgive him?

He didn't know.

Like Tai, it didn't matter. Only time would tell.

The car came to a complete halt. Slowly and carefully, he scanned his horizons. No movement around the area. He got out of the car. Closed the door. Locked it. Stood outside and listened. Smelled. No one around. He could sense that. He walked around towards the trunk of the car. Use the car's electronic key. He saw the black gym bag he'd stashed when he left the house. Grabbed it. Closed the trunk. Took out the black baseball gloves he'd stashed in. They were a snug fit. He looked up at the building. An apartment complex. Not his own.

This was where Matt lived.

He wondered if he still lived here.

That didn't matter. It would be a hard climb.

7 stories. A balcony door to break.

It was the only way.

He swung the bag on. Gave another tug on his gloves. He had to make sure.

Kari had accommodated everyone as well as she could. It was, after all, a small apartment. Some sat on the floor, some on the couch. Everyone had arrived. Everyone...except Matt, Sora, Joe and of course, Mimi.

"We love these reunions, Kari, but why are we here, why now, why so late?" asked Yolei

"Whatever Kari wants to tell us, we should be patient" said Ken.

"Please just be a little more patient" said Kari as she tried to accommodate her guests. It had been a while since everyone had been there. Without Tai, the group had splintered and grown apart.

Things would now change.

For good or bad, Kari didn't know.

All she knew was that Tai was late.

Her mobile vibrated.

The screen said "Tai".

She opened it and answered,

"Where are you? You're late"

The others just watched as she spoke to a complete stranger on the phone.

"I got a little behind on my stops, that's all, I'm on my way"

"Hurry up, they're getting restless"

"I'm nearly there, by the way, who's there, who's missing?"

"Everyone, except for Matt, Sora, Joe, and Mimi"

"Full house"

"What about Sora and Matt?"

"Don't know if they're gonna show up, we'll start without them, Mimi's reasons for not being there are obvious, Joe might not make it but that doesn't matter, he already knows"

"What about his letter?"

"We'll get it later, don't worry"

"OK"

"Gotta go, I'll see you there in just a second"

He hung up.

Kari closed her cell.

The entire room was watching her. Of course, not the room itself but it's occupants.

A lot of questions.

In a short time, there would be answers.

Tai parked his car nearby.

Still didn't know how he came to own it. Didn't care.

Don't question a good thing.

He got out. Looked around. That was becoming a habit.

Like if it was urgent. Like if he had to be vigilant.

He shook off those feelings of paranoia and mistrust and went towards his apartment building.

Opened the door and went inside.

Matt arrived distraught. He didn't know why Sora sounded the way she did on the phone.

He didn't like it.

He didn't like the month.

Didn't like the memories.

The feelings of guilt.

Tai's letter addressed to him expressed his deepest fears, his desires.

Everything he had tried to hide from everyone.

Tai knew. He knew everything.

He had expressed everything so well.

With every sentence he read, his fear grew by leaps and bounds.

The contents of that letter were written in pure anger.

Resentment.

Yet the more he read, the more it became clear to him.

The theme to it all. The climax.

_"-you took the only thing in my life tha t mattere d anything to me. _

_You got away with it too... what does it matte r now?_

_It doesn't. _

_Because my life is goin g to end..._

_You will keep you r secret...bu t so wil l I..._

Matt turned off his car. He had completely forgotten it was on.

He had to face her.

Find out what she wanted.

He knocked on the door to find her ready.

"Hey"

"Hey" he responded back.

None had much to say.

The last couple of days had been hard for both.

He went inside.

Matt looked around for Sora's father. He was nowhere to be seen.

"I...are you OK?"

"I'll be fine..., I was thinking about Kari's thing'

'What about it?"

"We should go"

"What? Why?"

"It's important to Kari"

"I don't know, Sora"

"Please, Matt" she said, a face that he could not resist.

He sighed, frowned, and shook his head.

"You gonna get ready?"

"Sure"

She left him standing in the hall alone.

This would not end well.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here, well,..."

The sound of a door opening.

Kari stopped. The room grew silent.

The door opened.

A man in a black suit, white shirt, with a messenger bag stepped in, his hair, jet black. His skin, almost pale.

Kari went to meet him.

Hugged him.

"What's with the gloves?" she whispered.

"I did some things which required gloves"

"What requires gloves?"

"I'll tell you later" he answered back, again, whispering.

Kari let him go and sat beside T.K.

The man in the black suit, the stranger in the Kamiya residence, walked over to the coffee table in the middle of the room. The letters from most of the digi-destined were there, evenly placed. Tai opened his messenger bag and dropped the last 3 letters in his possession, still one letter short, but that wasn't important.

The room was quiet.

There were so many questions on everyone's minds.

He would answer them, as best as he could.

They wouldn't all be satisfied.

Tai knew this, but he had to tell them.

He spoke,

"I know you're all wondering who I am, what the purpose of this meeting, if we can just hold all the questions until what I have to say is over, we'll be fine. I'll try to answer all your questions, but none of us will leave here satisfied"

He watched them.

They were holding their breath. Wondering who the stranger amongst themselves was.

"Four years ago, an...event occurred, something happened to all of us, something that, no doubt, changed us all. It made us do irrational things, to some of us, it solidified the growing belief that...life seems to kick you when you're on the ground. I don't know about that, but a similar event has occurred recently. A few days ago, I woke up in a hospital bed, completely disoriented, and I eventually made it home. I don't know what happened, I don't know how this is even possible, but I know one thing for certain. I'm here, and it's real"

He saw all their faces. The reaction was slow and he thought it would never come, but it did.

Eventually.

"No, you're not him" a single voice uttered.

Izzy. The man of science who could not accept this violation in the law of life.

"Why not?" replied Tai as he threw an object at Izzy.

It bounced off his hands and Davis picked it up.

"Tai's digivice"

"My digivice"

"We went to your funeral, Tai, you...this...how?" said Yolei.

"I don't know" he said shaking his head, sitting down beside Cody.

"I have no way to explain this, I can't, I've been beating myself up, trying to remember, where I've been, why this happened, I couldn't come up with a good enough answer but I had to tell you, all of you"

"Why the letters?"

He looked to Ken who asked the question.

Smiled, said,

"As you all know, the letters are personal messages to each one of you, I hope they've stayed that way. The letters are also highly cryptic. I believe that there may be a code but, in order to understand it, I'll have to piece it together, from all the letters, that's why I ask for them all back. Some of you complied."

"Some of you didn't." he added, underneath his breath.

"What do you mean, some of us didn't?" asked T.K

"Disregard that last statement."

I don't know what's going to happen next, all I know, is that nothing will ever be the same again. I'm alive and well, I don't display any signs of lingering JCS...other than my appearance. I hope that all of you, maybe not now, but in the future, can come to forgive me, for the pain I've caused you. I promise all of you, right now, that I will find out what happened, I may not remember now, but I will in the future, I hope"

"We're sure you will, Tai" said T.K

"I don't understand" said Izzy

"What's not to understand?"

"This is impossible, you can't be here"

"We used to do the impossible, a long time ago, remember?"

Izzy smiled, said,

"How did...you get cured, how did it go away?"

Tai shrugged his shoulders.

Izzy's question would have to wait.

There was a knock at the door.

Tai walked away from the group, looked through the keyhole and saw Matt and Sora.

They had decided to come after all.

This would make things a bit more interesting.

He unlocked the door. Opened it.

No one spoke. The room was tense.

Tai smiled.

"Who are you?" asked Matt.

"What are _you_ doing _here?" _ asked Sora

"Hold on" said Tai as his hand went in his inner coat pocket. He took out a single card, something simple he had found in his belongings, something he thought could explain the situation as best as one could.

"Here you go" he said to Sora.

She turned the card over, a simple piece of paper, nicely cut, nicely made, it read

_Kamiya Tai..._

**AN:** There you got to the end, I'm glad, I can't say the next chapter will be shorter, or longer, depends on what has happen in that particular session, as I've said before, the next session will be up soon, if you feel the need to contact me, do so through a review. I accept all kinds of _constructive _criticism. If you feel the need to insult me, go ahead, a waste of your time, and a waste of mine. Enjoy and Review. The Writer.


	8. A Second Introduction

**AN: **This is the Writer. Been out of the game for four years. I apologize, but I never quit and this story's been nagging me. Here's the next chapter, with my outline ready and my motivation set, you will see the end of this story by...let's say this year. Enjoy, and if you need to re-read it, feel free to do so. I hope you understand and thank you in advance for your endless patience. The Writer.

_Session__ 7 -__A __Second __Introduction__-_

**Taichi ****woke ****up****, ****disoriented ****and ****in ****pain****.** It would go away in a while. He stood up and listened. The house was silent. That was odd. He took off his clothes, they were drenched in sweat, his bed was soaked, he stepped into the shower. Let the hot water relax his muscles, he had plenty of time. He stood there, wondering what would happen today. The house was silent, but it was not empty.

He stepped out of the shower, got dressed in the most generic clothes lying around, sat down on his bed. He had the strangest feeling his phone was about to go off. That had been happening a lot. He thought about last night. That hadn't turned out so great. Everyone was still skeptical, he didn't blame them. He couldn't.

It was a lot to take in. None of that mattered now.

His cell rang. He knew it was Bruce. He clicked the phone.

"Hello, Bruce"

"How'd you sleep?"

"Not great"

"That'll change soon enough"

"Yeah right" said Tai as he smiled a little.

"Ready for work?"

"I guess"

"I'll see you in a while"

Tai sat on his bed and thought about it for a while. He didn't know anything about his life. Where he had been. What he'd done. The possibilities were endless, but he had an idea. The scars, they told a story, a story he wouldn't tell anyone for now. He smiled, it was no use to invent complex scenarios. Eventually, he'd know.

He left the room. He was hungry.

He sat down and poured himself some cereal. He'd eat and wait. Enjoy the oddity that was his life.

T.K came out of Kari's room, pajamas all wrangled up. It been a rough night.

Tai knew this. He showed no outside emotion. His face was blank as he ate his cereal and stared into space.

He should be mad. He wasn't. He wondered why. Maybe it had something to do with his former illness.

He'd ask Bruce later on.

It wasn't like him to be so calm.

T.K poured himself a bowl, sat next to him. Just two guys eating breakfast. Tai smiled. This would be fun.

"Hello T.K" he said slowly.

"Hey, Tai, how'd you sleep?"

"Pretty well, you?"

T.K hesitated for a fraction of a second. It was a flash in his eyes, a dilation of his pupils that occurred so fast, anyone else would have missed it.

But not Tai. Tai knew exactly what it meant and it was all the more reason he should proceed.

"I slept alright, hey I want to talk to you about something"

"Last night?"

"No, I mean, we'll talk about that later on, but it's not that"

"Oh"

"I think you're taking this pretty well"

"I've always known you liked my sister" Tai responded, as he ate another spoonful of cereal.

"That's not what I mean, some guys aren't so cool about this"

Tai turned around to face T.K.

"I'm not my sister's keeper, she does what she thinks is best, and she's got a good head on her shoulders, I trust her"

"I'm glad you're OK with this"

Tai smiled.

"You think I'm a cool guy?" he asked, no emotion, a smile on his face that seemed to only indicate pride.

"Yeah, you're taking this very calm, your Mom and Dad freaked when they caught us the first time"

"Did they now?" Tai asked, still no tone. No indication of any emotion in his voice.

"Yeah" said T.K and smiled. He ate spoonful of cereal.

Tai got up and walked towards the sink. He threw away the remaining milk and rinsed the bowl.

"That's nice" he said, as he eyed a large, razor-sharp knife with a red handle. He turned around to see if T.K was watching him. T.K was still eating his cereal, telling some story that didn't really seem to matter to him at the moment.

Tai grabbed the knife, and quickly and hid it out of view, pressing the cold blade tightly against his wrist, T.K none the wiser.

"So Tai-" said T.K but was startled when Tai grabbed his hand and twisted it. He pressed the knife to T.K's throat,hard, and held him from his back.

T.K couldn't breathe as Tai dragged him and placed him facing the wall.

"You think I'm a cool guy, T.K?" said Tai, in a calm, collected voice, yet a slight hint of anger and something else seeped through.

T.K couldn't answer. Tai relieved his hold on his throat.

The knife was covered with blood. Not a lot, but just enough.

"Why?" he said hoarsely.

"Just listen... I'm not going to kill you, T.K. That would be foolish"

He continued,

"A few days before I was here, I saw Davis, do you know who Davis reminds me of? Do you know who you remind me of? I don't think you fully understand just who I am and what kind of person I've become, so don't presume, just **don****'****t****. **Yesterday you saw what I did to your brother and how easily I did it, so you've seen a fraction, a glimpse. I am a man who is willing to do what is necessary. I think you know what that means. It was in your letter. All we are doing right now is having a simple conversation, like civilized people. Do you understand that? Thumbs up if you understand"

T.K managed to raise his other hand, his right hand, with a thumbs up sign.

"Good" said Tai, "do you understand why I'm doing this to you?"

T.K said nothing. He still couldn't speak...

"I'm doing this because...words mean nothing. They mean absolutely nothing. My empty whispers, my cries for help went unanswered as the rest of the world went on. I asked for her...and nothing happened. It is our actions, T.K. Our actions define us. I could have easily told you, just now, as we ate breakfast...but words are meaningless. My knife to your throat, that means something. Now, T.K, I like you. I meant that, but I like my sister just a little more. If you should cause my sister pain, if you should ruin her life..."

His hold increased. T.K blood's started to drip. Tai could hear every single drop fall with crystal-clear clarity. He could smell the cold sweat, he could hear T.K's heartbeat and it's frantic palpitations. Tai was enjoying every single second.

He didn't know whether to be scared or not. It wasn't important.

"Understand this, T.K, if you should ruin her life, this knife will be the least of your worries. The funniest thing is, you'll never see it coming, so..."

Tai's phone began to vibrate. He tossed T.K onto the floor.

"Hello?"

"Did you eat breakfast?"

"Sure, why?"

"What a shame, well, come on, you're not going to make me wait forever are you?"

"No, I'll be right down"

Hung up.

"Clean yourself up, T.K, you look awful" he said, as he washed the knife and put it back into it's place.

T.K got up, his pajamas all smeared in sweat and blood. His blood. Tai meant what he said. He was sure of that. He watched as Tai got his keys, his phone. Grabbed his jacket and took off, leaving the door slightly ajar as he left.

He placed his right hand on his neck, his fingers were covered in blood.

"T.K, oh my God, what happened? You're bleeding!" said Kari as she rushed to his aid.

"Your brother...your brother is insane"

"He did this?"

"He could have killed me"

Kari's face changed. She relaxed. She ran towards the closet. Got the first aid kit. Came back and began to treat T.K.

"I know why he did this"

"Why he nearly killed me?"

"Look" she said as she cleaned him up, "we'll talk with him, together"

"How am I going to explain this to Matt?"

"Forget Matt, how are you going to explain it to your mom?"

"Accident at school or something, I don't know"

"Where's my brother now?"

"He got a call, and left"

Kari nodded. She kissed him.

"How do I know he won't kill me next time?"

"He's my brother, he's not capable of that"

"Everyone is capable of murder, Kari, even us"

She sat next to him. She could smell the stink of blood off his clothes. The sweat.

"Come on" she said, "let's go get ready"

Tai reached the ground floor. Saw Bruce leaning on a car. The same car he'd seen yesterday. The Chevelle.

Bruce was eating a wrapped up sandwich.

He enjoyed every bit and licked his fingers as he finished it. He threw the foil and the papers on the otherwise clean back seat.

Tai opened the passenger door and sat down.

Bruce opened his door. Sat down. The car seats were comfortable.

The kind of seats you could sit on all day, no discomfort at all.

Bruce grabbed the other sandwich from the dashboard.

Unwrapped it.

"You want it?" he asked.

Tai shook his head, slowly.

His hands were still trembling.

"OK" said Bruce and began to eat it.

"We going to sit here all day?"

"No" replied Bruce, his mouth half full with roast beef, he swallowed ,

"We'll leave in a little while, I didn't eat breakfast today, so if you don't mind..."

Tai nodded. He was in no rush.

"What's with the shaking?" asked Bruce, his mouth full.

"Shaking?"

"Shaking, your left hand, as you opened the door and sat down, that's not normal, not for you"

"How would you know what's normal for me?"

Bruce smiled.

Swallowed his food, said,

"What's normal for you is normal to me"

Tai watched him as he ate the sandwich. Wondered if what he said was true.

Still lost and without purpose.

He could have killed him. A few more inches.

He came very close.

It was simply an urge. An indescribable urge.

_'__T__.__K __will __be __alright__, __but __me__? __What __if __next __time __I __can__'__t __control __myself__? __What __if __I __do __something __worse__?_

_There__'__s __simply __no __way __of __knowing __what __I__'__m __capable __of__...'_

Bruce was halfway through his sandwich, he wiped his mouth clean with a nearby napkin, asked,

"How'd it go last night?"

Mouth still full.

All his thoughts, his fears, his emotions, vanished, turned around to stare at Bruce.

He said nothing. His features revealed nothing.

"That bad?"

He nodded in response.

"Things will get better, believe me"

"If you say so" said Tai, no tone.

He turned around to see Bruce finish off the sandwich. He threw the wrapper in the back.

Started the car. It was a sound unlike anything else on the streets of Japan.

Genuine American muscle.

Bruce knew his way around Japan. He had no need for a GPS and no need to ask Tai for any directions. He knew exactly where he was going.

To Tai, it seemed they were headed for the docks. As to what purpose, he didn't know.

Perhaps this was his job all along. Perhaps, Taichi Kamiya worked at the docks.

No, nothing in his world was that simple.

There were things here, aspects of the story he did not possess.

They quickly got there, stopping short of the steel gates. As a child, he had always been told to stay away from this area of Odaiba.

Now he would find out why.

The guard outpost was to the left. They sat there in the car. Waiting for something. For someone.

Tai was quiet. He was alert. He didn't like not knowing. Not anymore.

He could see the guards through the plated glass. They had guns. All security guards do.

These security guards were different.

What kind of security guard carries around an M4?

What kind of security guard carries around a Mossberg 500?

Tai knew the answer to those questions. Simple and logical.

The kind with something important to protect.

One of them, the taller of the two, stepped out of the booth. He was the one armed with the M4.

Tai had never seen one in real life. Just in video games and on TV.

He walked over to Bruce's side.

Bruce's window went down. The guard leaned close, smiled,

"How's it going, Mr. Givern?" he said, smiling.

"The day just started, Park" he responded, "what do you think?"

Park walked over towards the passenger side, the right side.

"What about you?"

Taichi sucked his teeth.

"What about me?"

Park smiled, a short smile.

"Typical Taichi response" said the other unnamed guard.

They both nodded and the gates opened, whoever was watching had given them access. There was something wrong with this place, it wasn't a shipping yard.

"Your mind's running a thousand miles a minute, Tai" said Bruce as he parked his beast of a car.

"Stop that, all your questions will be answered soon" he said, smiled. Not a good smile.

'_How __did __he __know __what __I __was __thinking__?'_

Taichi followed the man he had once known as Marshall, to a locked door, the door to a warehouse, one of many in this part of the yard.

"Bruce Givern" he said, waiting for a few seconds as the light above the door went from a dull red to a bright blue.

A voice-recognition security system for a simple warehouse door?

Now Tai was nervous.

Bruce went inside and the door locked, all in a manner of seconds, Tai hadn't even noticed he was now standing outside alone.

Tai got close to the door. Couldn't spot where the mic was hidden.

"Taichi Kamiya?" he said, a small tinge of uncertainty in his voice.

The lights did nothing. Then the door opened.

"What are you doing, Tai?" Bruce asked him

Taichi smiled. Shook his head.

"Not a thing"

He followed Bruce inside, expected to find something out of the ordinary.

There was nothing inside but rows of shipping crates, stacked as high as the warehouse roof. The corridors led to a various small rooms within the warehouse.

Nothing suspicious, except everything was suspicious.

Taichi followed Bruce who said nothing as he made his way towards one of the various "offices" inside the warehouse.

"You know, Tai, I keep forgetting you're not up to speed on our operations here in Japan"

"It is my first day, Bruce"

"Ever heard of Faraday?"

"Who?"

"Faraday Industries, they specialize in medicine, finance and defense"

"Is that who we work for"

"On paper, you're a security consultant for Faraday Industries"

"On paper?"

"Tai, you're focusing on the wrong part of the story, this is your job, your career, you've done this job for the last 4 years, you're very good at your job, and while you may be in the dark as to what it is you do _exactly__, _rest assured, you'll catch on quick"

"If you say so..."

Bruce smiled, shook his head.

"This is your office, your first order of business for today, is to read, see the pile of books?"

"I do now"

"Read until you can't read anymore, and then read some more, I'll be back soon"

"Wait, is that it, that's my job for today?"

"Yeah, that, and summoning up the courage"

With those words, Bruce was gone, and Tai was left alone.

Summoning up the courage? What could that mean? It didn't matter.

Tai surveyed his new office, it was a windowless room, filled with books, fluorescent lighting and a simple wooden desk. He sat on a very comfortable chair, a small feeling of claustrophobia lingered. Oddly enough, it was the first time in days he remembered he suffered from such affliction. He picked up the first book, its title obscure, no clear sign of when it had been written or for what purpose.

Summoning up the courage?

Bruce's words bothered him and before long, Tai found himself staring at the same page of his obscure tome for what seemed to be an eternity.

There was a knock on the door. Tai put his book down. Felt uneasy.

"You may enter" he said out loud.

"Delivery for a Mr. Kamiya" said the courier.

Tai signed the form and received the package.

Opened the box.

A smaller rectangular box with a puzzle lock.

He smiled.

It would have been impossible for him to solve such a thing just a few years ago.

Taichi solved the puzzle with ease, but was now hesitant.

A hypodermic needle and an unknown solution in a small vial.

'_This __game __again__...'_

The hours went by and all Tai could do was stare at the needle. The vial. The books he did not understand.

He had already come this far, and they had given him his life back, and then some.

He broke the seal on the vial, filled the needle and injected himself in the neck.

He felt no immediate effects, no drowsy feelings. No euphoria. No rage, nothing about him was different.

He returned to his reading.

When Bruce returned, he found Tai sleeping on his desk, a bundle of books on the floor, the rest, neatly organized on their shelves and on the crude desk.

Tai had read as much as he could, that much, he was certain.

Tai had found himself on the porch of his parents' apartment. A beer in his hand, he was completely alone. His job, whatever it was, gave him no new clues as to what his past was.

He took a swig, and nearly emptied his mug. He had already had 8 beers, and felt nothing. He could have easily called any of his friends, those who were loyal to him, who stood by his side to the bitter end.

He did no such thing.

He wanted to be alone. He wanted to tell them something concrete, give them more than just a miracle. He wanted to give them a reason.

He got up and refilled his mug, last beer.

He'd buy more, he liked the taste, even if they did nothing for him.

Haruhiko's words suddenly came to mind.

Could he live as a man with no past, a man truly free of his afflictions? Would they understand?

His phone rang. An unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Tai, why are you trying to get drunk?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Renner, a friend from long ago, but of course, you don't remember a thing, do you?"

"How do you know I'm trying to get drunk?"

"I took a shot, that's what you usually do on a night like this"

"Ok" said Tai, smiled, "what can I do for you, Renner?"

"You should let Bruce know I'm back in the game"

"Somehow I doubt that's good news"

"Same old Tai" said Renner, smiling, "they're lying to you, Tai"

"Maybe, maybe, we'll see"

"Believe me, Tai, they'relying to you"

Tai said nothing, waited.

"You still there, Tai?"

"Yeah"

"See you in a bit"

"Yeah" he said, hung up.

Renner was gone, and the night was gone. No point in drinking anymore.

**AN: **Well, there it is. As always, I accept _constructive _criticism. Any comments, reviews are welcome. Can't promise when I will update exactly, but it will be soon. Enjoy.


	9. The Nights

AN: This is the Writer. You can call me Joe, Manco or Blondie. Doesn't matter. You'll be pleased to know the next chapter is almost done, so the wait will be not be nearly as long, 2 to 3 days. Just have to revise it. I wonder if you have stuck to the story. Those of you reading it for the first time, I thank you for your time and I will do my best to make sure it ends well. Those of you who have read it in the past, thanks for waiting. I hope it was worth it.

Disclaimer: Right now, the story is not particular violent, but it might get violent later on, I'll make the necessary adjustments, rating wise, and also, the romances are pretty standard. I'm a big fan of Taiora, but that's not where we want to go right now, so don't worry, not a big romantic fella anyway.

Also, I don't own Digimon...

_Session 8 -The Nights...-_

**"Taichi, apologize" said Bruce.**

Taichi shook his head, slowly, his gaze never leaving its place.

"Boss..." said Jill, a hint of worry in the tone of her voice.

"Tai... come on, man"

Their focus, their breathing, all controlled, and at the same time, stiff, heavy.

"Someone is going to die, now" said Lao, pointing a handgun at the bunch, to his left, to his right, his men, older, experienced, with looks fixed on their face, like gargoyles, also pointing their guns. Dressed in expensive suits, with fine watches and silk ties, they almost looked out of place.  
Tai analyzed every inch of the place, 2 exits, one to the left, the other, south. He measured the distance between the 2 parties. These men weren't alone, they had backup somewhere in the shadows.  
This wasn't their first rodeo.  
Surrounded by shipping containers, this had become his life. They were looking for someone, logically, this was the first stop.  
Tai concentrated on his own gun, on the force he was using to jam it into their guard's ribs. He held him in place, and nobody moved. This silence was familiar.  
Bruce and Jill were armed, their guns in their holsters, a quick draw and they would all be dead.

"Look, Lao, Tai was kidding, that's what he does, he's a kidder, you know he didn't mean that nonsense, right, Tai, you didn't mean any of that" said Jill, a smile on her face.

Whether it was fear or readiness, Tai didn't know.

"You're a dead man, Tai" said Lao, incensed.

"Get in line" said Tai, a smile on his face.

"Mother-"

"Back the hell up" yelled Tai, "don't make me shoot him, now back up"

"Lin, get your ass out here, Lin" yelled Bruce,

"Control your boy or you'll be picking him off the floor with a paper cup"

The men next to Lao stiffened. Tai tightened his hold on their guard.

Bruce and Jill slowly lowered their hands.

"Hands up, guys" said Lao, no longer angered, but scared. His bodyguards glanced at one another. Safeties off.

Bruce smiled, nodded.

Jill smiled, nodded.

Tai exhaled hard, a few seconds, that's all it would take.

"Paper cup?" a voice said out of darkness.

The tension was suddenly gone.

"Really, Bruce, that's the best you've got?"

"Lin?"'

Lin's laugh was hysterical, and it seemed to grow louder as he got closer.

"You've made my day, Bruce"

"Happy to be of help"

"Put them down, boys, Lao, let it go..."

"Boss, I-"

"Let..it...go..." he said as he stepped into the light "besides, you couldn't take Tai on even if these guys helped you"

Tai flung their guard to the floor, followed Bruce who was walking behind Lin. Jill smiled, shrugged her shoulders and followed Tai.  
His office was small, but big enough to hold them all.

"Sit down, gentlemen, how can I help you this evening?"

"We're looking for someone, someone you've had dealings with in the past" said Bruce who sat to the left of Tai.

Jill stood, her guns still ready.

"You want to find someone, you should get yourself a nice P.I, I thought this was a business deal"

"It is a business deal, see it's our business to make sure there is a proper balance to the criminal underworld in this area, anyone trying to upset the balance, is  
going to have to answer to us" said Bruce.

"Your threats are insignificant, Bruce, I know who you work for"

"Do you?" asked Tai.

"You're a newcomer, and you dare to question my intelligence?"

"Tai is right, you don't really know who we are, Lin, and that's good and bad" said Jill.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Someone called Renner" replied Tai.

"Never heard of him"

"You're not fooling us, mate, we know he's spoken to you, if not, we can always get the Russian to help us" said Bruce.

"You don't know the Russian" said Lin, smiling.

"We know the Russian, we're also in touch with the Americans, and that's bad for you" said Jill

Silence. A man thinking his options over. The lights flickered, and time ticked slowly by. This was the night shift, and although he would never tell Kari where he was at this hour, he still longed for answers.  
The transition had occurred without a hitch, he was now working for Faraday Industries, a company with very questionable security methods.  
The money was good, the company even better, and no one asked questions.  
It was perfect for Tai. Lin stood, slowly, said,

"You're not a rat, Bruce"

"You should know, Lin, there have been some inquiries as to the nature of your business, the triads, the russian, sasha, they're all looking at you, looking at me, asking me to deliver, I try telling them you've done no wrong by us, but it's bad business, mate, so, consider our business transactions terminated, we apologize for wasting your time" said Bruce, as he stood up, motioned Tai to stand up, they walked all the way outside before Lin stopped them.

"Renner's here, but I don't know where, OK?"

Bruce nodded, turned around and made his way toward his car.

"What about our business?"

"What about it?" said Jill as she followed Tai who was already gone, disappearing into the night.

"Tai?"

Still lost in the dream, wondering whether it was a vision, a memory or a construct, designed to teach him a lesson.

"Tai?"

There was the voice again, it was familiar. Distant, but very familiar.  
Kari.  
He looked off in the distance.  
Empty battlefields were no place for a teenage girl, especially his sister. A desolate wasteland laid in front of him.  
Whatever battle had been fought was long over.

"Tai?"

He opened his eyes. There she was, in all her glory. She was dressed in her high school's colors, a soccer jersey on top of her green blazer.

"You look like hell" she said, a beautiful smile on her face.

"Wish I could say the same"

"What have you been up to, late nights, we don't see you anymore, is your job that demanding?"

"Something like that...late night shift is horrible, and I'm not exactly the early morning type, am I?"

"I know things have been awkward..."

"What are you talking about, Kari?"

Then he remembered...he had been so busy with his new life, he had forgotten he was supposed to repair the old one.  
His last encounter with Matt and Sora had been nothing short of a disaster.

"I'll fix things, somehow" he said, his turn to smile.

"You could start by going to the game today, Davis is starting"

"Will everyone be there?"

"More or less"

"I'll be there...and I will behave..."

She smiled, and walked over to his study table, replete with books, notes, and his pistol. She had noticed it. She wanted to ask, didn't get the chance.

"You're probably wondering what that is..."

"You DID say you were a security consultant..."

"In case you're wondering, I have license to use it, to have it at home, and no, I've never used it on anyone"

"Let's hope you never do, the only thing that bothers me..."

"What?"

"Just what kind of security do you do?"

"Don't really know, I've never seen what I'm protecting, I just know it's important"

She nodded, a little peace of mind, but still very worried.  
Just who were these people?  
What did they do, and what did they want with her brother?  
She left the room, with more questions than answers.

With no work today, Tai took to wander around the city, hitting up new restaurants and wondering just what he would make of his life. He had returned to the land of the living so fast, he really had no time to think. A clean bill of health had been his priority, followed by answers to his questions. He was still working on that last one.  
He knew less than he did before.  
Could he really trust the people he worked with now?  
What were their real motives? Tai thought about this as he ate his sandwich, sitting on a bench in one of the many parks around the area.  
He had no reason to seek company. Despite his desire for solitude, he was at peace.  
Everything looked brighter. The air was sweet. The heat, tolerable for a man dressed in black.  
It was the closest he had come to happy in such a long time.  
His mobile rang.  
His fantasy gone. No more pretending to be a normal person. No more pretending to be just like everyone else.  
He answered,

"Go for Tai"

"Tai?"

The voice set him back.

_'Why are you calling me?'_

"Yes?"

_'He doesn't remember my voice'_she thought.

"Tai, it's Sora"

"How can I help you, Sora?"

"Are you busy?"

"I'm having lunch, care to join me?" he asked, taking a gamble. If it paid off, she would decline, and leave him alone, if it backfired, it meant having lunch with Sora.

"Kari told me you've been working nights, that's a rough shift"

She deflected the question. Smart.

"Yeah, it's my day off, I'm at the park, just a few blocks away from your mom's place"

Silence.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer"

"Excellent"

More silence. They each hung up, no other words spoken.

What a way to come back to reality.

She got there fast. He observed as she walked up to him, serious. She must have caught herself, because, she tried her best to smile, but it wasn't right. He said nothing, did nothing. She sat to his left. Looked the other way.

He grabbed the bag on the ground, next to his right foot.

"Sandwich?" he said, without looking at her

"Where did you get it?"

"A deli, just a few blocks from here"

"You bought two?"

"I bought five, that's my last one" he said, finally looking at her, smiling.

It was too much, she couldn't be angry anymore. She laughed, as he smiled. There she was. The person he used to know.

"Five?!"

"Five"

"Why, Tai?" she said, laughing.

"Why not? I'm hungry, and that's what I wanted..."

"We don't always get what we want, Tai"

There was silence. Maybe she shouldn't have said that. It brought on painful memories, but if he was thinking of them, it didn't show.

"I used to think that way, it's amazing what happens to you when you almost die"

"You did die, I was there" she said, still somber.

"Well, me too, doesn't mean a thing though, I mean, we're here now, aren't we? he said, smiling.

"You got me there" she said, smiling. She couldn't help but smile now.

She took a bite out of her sandwich. It was good, full of flavor, fresh, and a little spicy, oddly enough, just the way she liked them.

"You can't live your life with fear, with regret, no, I'm done with that"

She was still eating, he continued,

"I'm going to do whatever I want, whenever I want to, and with whomever I want to"

"Now you sound like you're dying all over again" she said, mouth half-full.

"Quite the contrary, young lady, I am a man reborn"

"I know your right cross is more than reborn" she said, smiling.

He smiled sheepishly,

"I AM sorry about that, it was more of a reflex than a conscious act"

"It didn't look like a reflex, that's all I'm saying"

"Really?"

"You looked like you enjoyed it"

A big smile on her face. A real smile.

"Maybe..." he paused, continued, "maybe I did, still didn't mean to break my living room coffee table doing it"

"He went down hard, didn't he?"

He sighs,

"Yes he did"

Silence. She finished the rest of the sandwich, and Tai, without missing a beat, gave her a beer.

"Beer?" she asked.

"Why not, are you driving?"

"I thought it was illegal to drink in public?"

"What cop would arrest you?"

"Several of them, as a matter of fact, I was arrested for protesting several times"

"What were you protesting?" he asked, as he opened a beer of his own.

"The medicine trials for JCS, I marched with all the people who lost their loved one...the frustration we felt was incredible, it was cathartic to do it, and that's  
why I didn't mind at all when we were arrested"

She was silence. Her eyes gleamed. Tai felt something for her. Something he'd forgotten a long time ago. He felt sorry for her. He felt awful for everything he put them through. For everything he'd done to her.  
He grabbed her hand, startling her, yet she didn't flinch, didn't pull back,

"I'm sorry, and I promise you I'll never hurt you like that again, none of you" he said, staring into her eyes, they were warm, caring, loving eyes.

She squeezed his hand gently, firmly,

"I know" she said, almost whispering.

Now there was silence and it seemed interminable. To an outside party, it would be nothing more than a date between two people who seemed to be perfectly matched for each other. But it wasn't that.  
It was a shot at redemption, a second chance at friendship long gone.  
He let her go. Took a sip of beer. She followed suit. It was good.  
It was just what she needed.

"So...what do we do now?" she asked

"Help me"

She turned around to see his face, it was disconcerting to see him with short hair, dyed jet black, combed so thoroughly, and his wardrobe.  
Black had never been Tai's color, but now, it was all he wore, but the worst thing, the detail that pulled at her heartstrings, was his eyes, one brown, one blue. Eyes that no longer shone with brightness and hope, and courage and love. There was nothing in his eyes anymore. Just dull colors.  
How she wished she could bring back the spark that lit up his eyes so long ago.  
She would try. She was sure of it now.

"Of course" she said, "what is it?"

"Help me bring us all back together, we need this, we need to start over" he said, with a small hint of concern in his voice.

She slowly smiled, one big happy smile, eyes gleaming. It was quite the sight.

"Nothing would make me happier"

He nodded and smiled.

She stood up.

"Thank you, Tai, you've given me exactly what I needed, and you can count on me"

"Good to hear" he said, finishing his beer.

"One condition, though"

"Name it"

"Please refrain from knocking out Matt with a single punch in the near future" she said, smiling, continued, "as entertaining as it is, I really do think you might hurt him one of these days"

"I can see how that could be a problem...I make no promises though"

He smiled.

She smiled.

"Good bye" she said and walked away. He nodded.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

They did share the same concern. He also worried he'd hurt him someday beyond repair.

Tai went home, surprised by his encounter with Sora. It had been pleasant, civil and above all, he had done nothing to upset her. He spent the rest of the day cleaning the apartment, reading _Wealth of Nations_ and cleaning out his pistol. He put it back together, put away the oils, and the rags. Placed it in its holster.

There was a reason he had been issued a sidearm.  
He fell asleep with terrible thoughts floating through his head.  
The alarm on his watch went off. The times was 6:45 p.m.  
The date was no longer important.  
He no longer cared about the four years past.  
They couldn't help him. Couldn't hurt him.  
He looked at his mobile, an unread message...

_'Tai...took the car, left you an alternate method of transportation, take care of her and return her at your discretion'_  
_-Bruce_

Tai washed his face, combed his hair, and grabbed his black leather jacket, left his car keys and went downstairs to the garage.  
In place of his car, a red Ducati 999.  
A helmet hung from the left side handle, a pair of matching gloves and the keys in it.  
Taichi smiled.

"All right" he said softly to no one.

**AN: **OK, so that's that. As I've said in the past, I accept all forms of _constructive criticism _as well as any grammatical corrections. I'm not perfect, you know. The part with him and Sora wasn't too easy to write, if it felt awkward, then maybe it was supposed to be. The next chapter will be up very soon, 2 to 3 days max. I was supposed to be one long chapter, but I don't want you reading a lot. Take care, friends, and see you next time. The Writer.


	10. The Days

AN: Welcome back, this is the Writer. Here's the second part. Sorry I took a while, my computer was on the fritz, anyway, you can expect the next chapter in the next 2 weeks, or 3 weeks, although the chapter won't be so long. Enjoy, and please review at your discretion.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

_Session 9 -The Days-_

The game was about to start. Kari, T.K, and Yolei were in the high school parking lot. The others, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Joe were in the stands. The season had just started. It was Davis' first game starting as the captain, despite everything that had happened, this was still something he could enjoy. With Ken at his side, it was the beginning of an already impressive partnership. Tai saw them through the visor of his helmet. Saw the bright lights of the school's soccer field. It almost felt like the old days when he ran through that field. He slowed down and eventually stopped right in front of them.

"Tai!" they all exclaimed, a mixture between surprise and happiness.

"Hey guys" he replied as he took off his helmet, took off his gloves.

He turned off the motorcycle and it quickly died down, not that it was particularly noisy.  
He got off, stashed the gloves in the helmet.  
He gave Kari a quick hug, asked,

"Why are you guys here, shouldn't you guys be calming Davis?"

"Nah, Davis is fine, I mean, as fine as he can be" said T.K, continued, "besides we wanted to see if you were gonna show up"

"OK then"

"Hey Tai" said Yolei, "do you think you can teach me to ride a motorcycle?" she said with a smile on her face, coy as always.

"Where did you get that thing, and why did you trade your car for it?" asked Kari.

"It's a long story, but I didn't trade my car, Kari" he said, "and Yolei, I would be delighted to teach you" he said with a smile

"The others?" he asked

"They're waiting for us" replied T.K

They walked towards the entrance, T.K and Yolei conversed and walked ahead. Tai walked a bit slower, a fact that did not go unnoticed by his ever vigilant sister.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head.

"Tai?" she asked again

He sighed,

"It's been weeks, almost a month and a half since I've been "back" and I'm no closer to finding out the past than when I awoke at that hospital, I'm still playing by someone else's rules and frankly, I'm a little tired of that"

"Just be patient, don't worry too much about it, focus on your health and on getting your life back" she said, a wisdom far beyond her years.

He said nothing. Nodded and smiled,

"Come on"

They made their way to their seats and Tai found Matt, Sora, Izzy and Joe already there. He hugged Izzy, shook Joe's hand firmly and then Matt got up.

"Hello Tai"

"Matt, how's your back?"

"My back's OK, my jaw is OK too, it's my pride that's a little hurt, but I guess we were both a little angry that night"

"I shouldn't have reacted the way I did, it was supposed to be a celebration, I'm the one that ruined it"

"I goaded you, man"

"Nah man, really, it was my fault"

"You both acted like jerks, can we put it past us and sit down?" said Sora, a smile on her face.

"Sora's right" said Kari as the others laughed.

"So, how's the man of the hour, is he relaxed, is he nervous?"

"He's calm, he's zen" said T.K

"Zen?" asked Tai, this being a word that did not describe Davis.

"Yeah" said Yolei, "that's what he told us"

They sat down, Matt, Sora, T.K, Kari, Tai, Yolei, Izzy and Joe.

"What's with the helmet, Tai, you got a motorcycle now?" asked Izzy.

"Yeah" he said, nonchalantly, "want to ride it later?"

"Tai, you wouldn't be so careless as to actually come here in a motorcycle, would you?" asked Sora. A look of genuine worry.

"It's OK, I know how to ride one, I am careful and it's only temporary, as fun as it is, I do miss my car"

"Where is your car?" asked Matt.

"In the shop"

"I don't believe that for a second" Joe replied.

Tai laughed,

"Well..." he said, trailing, smiling...

Joe smiled, an inside joke no one else understood.

The announcer began to speak. He announced the rosters. The starters and the back ups. It was the second game of the season, but Davis had already made Captain. The teams made their way into the arena, lit up like gladiators. It was time to do battle, and Tai knew so very well the feeling. There was nothing quite like it. He knew what it was like, all eyes on him, some expecting him to fail, others, expecting him to lead them to victory. None of it mattered. He didn't play for them.  
He always played for himself. To prove to the world he was better.  
Tai wondered if Davis felt that way. Maybe Davis was a real team player.  
Maybe Davis was better than him.

It was time to start, everyone warmed up and the crowd cheered.  
He smiled, and caught Davis looking at him from the field.  
Davis smiled.  
Taichi nodded.  
Win.  
That's what Tai wanted, and Davis knew it.  
Win at any costs.  
Be the man you're supposed to be.

Davis met up with Katsu, the team captain of their opposing team, a rivalry that went back decades, it had existed long before them and it would endure after they hung up their cleats for the last time.  
It made the game intense, exciting and important.  
Katsu was their star player, someone who was easily ranked ahead of Davis and Ken, at his age, he might even be better than Tai.  
The players took their positions.  
They were off, each of the teams lobbying for a chance to make a push, to score early in the game, and play good defense. Occasionally, the crowds would cheer, and Tai would cheer along with them. He watched the others as they cheered for Davis and Ken. He still loved the game, but his passion had been waning. Twenty minutes in, and still, good defense prevailed, a fact that was pleasant to Tai. Davis and Ken were hustling, going so far as to come down and help their defense. As the large crowd began to do the wave, he felt a strange vibration. His phone was ringing. Without looking, he rejected the call, and cheered on with his friends.  
Forty two minutes, and the team was feeling the pressure.  
A drive by the opposing team, a critical mistake by one of the midfielders, Tai imagined every single scenario, and formulated a defense for every one of them.  
As if they were reading his mind, the opposing team made a final drive to score before the first half was over. An error by the home team's defender. The fans on the other side exploded with joy.  
They trailed by 1 now.  
They played the last few minutes but to no avail. The first half was done, and Davis' team was down.  
The Heighton View Terrace team was good, real good, until now, their defense had made it impossible for Davis or Ken to break through.  
The teams went back inside.  
Half time, and the crowd was restless, a loss here would be detrimental to school morale. Davis knew it and had been doing his best.  
Tai stood up, phone in hand.

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Kari, "you're not thinking of leaving now, are you?"

"Nonsense, Kar, I need to use the bathroom, be right back"

He walked in front of all of them. Went towards the bathrooms but did not go in. Instead, he went for the locker room. He opened slightly ajar, listened to the coach, as they went over the team's overall strategy. The mood was good, the team felt good. Tai knew a couple of the players, of course, they were kids when he met them.  
They gathered in a circle, screamed the team motto and dispersed. He went in quickly, without detection. They all went back outside, except for Davis who took a little while longer to tie his cleats.

"Davis?" he said, behind him.

Davis looked up. Didn't look back. He didn't know where the voice was coming from.

"Hello?"

"You OK, man?"

He turned around, to see Tai. Smiled.

"I'm stoked man, first time as captain, I'm doing OK, right?"

Tai nodded.

"Why don't I feel like it, then?"

"Their defense is good, but there's a hole on the left side, the midfielders are weak there, but they overcompensate by having their offense go down to help out, you need to make some sort of blitzkrieg move to get past them, then you'll have a chance"

Davis looked at him funny.

"Blitzkrieg?"

Tai smiled.

"Look, don't worry about it, just be fast, aggressive, you can do it, I gotta go man, they're waiting for you outside too"

At that moment, Ken came in.

"Hey man, are you OK? Rest of the team's wondering when you're gonna come out"

"I'm fine man, I was just talking to Tai"

"Tai? He ain't here, he's in the stands"

Davis turned around. Tai was gone, if he was here, he was gone now.

"He was here, man, come on, let's go"

Davis got up and followed Ken outside.

Back outside, refreshed, renewed, and with newfound knowledge, Davis was more than ready.  
He had to sit out, but told Ken what Tai observed.  
Ken had simply nodded, and took the field.  
He drank from his sports drink. Watched the game. Ken was a real leader on the field. He had been before. Davis wondered as to why he never objected when he was made captain. Ken regrouped with the rest of the team, and waited patiently.  
Tai sat above in the stands, with Kari, Yolei, Sora and Matt yelling their hearts out.  
Then he saw it, Ken was moving, exactly as Tai had told Davis.  
Ken moved swiftly, and they weren't expecting.  
The crowd cheered as Ken scored the first goal for their team, a massive shot from the left side.

With the score tied, Davis went back in.  
With rough exchanges, something was gonna give.

_'Be careful with Katsu, Davis, he's got a weak right knee...'_

"Come on Davis, you can do it" yelled Kari with all her might

Davis caught up with Katsu, and slid into him, missed him as Katsu jumped up but landed on his right foot, slipped, and twisted his foot, the extent of the damage unknown.  
The game stopped.  
Everyone stood up.  
The unimaginable had happened.  
Davis got up and went over. The trainers ran over. Checked his leg.  
Katsu had blond hair, a light frame, ideal for soccer player.  
Taichi knew the injury, he wouldn't be playing soccer for a while, a devastating blow to his team.  
He looked around, despite the rivalry, they were all silent.  
No one felt worse than Davis, who now felt responsible, despite the fact that the move had been clean and with no ill intentions.  
His teammates picked him up, and he limped off the field, with both crowds in applause.  
Tai had no interest in Katsu, his season was over, and now, his team would have to do without him.  
Davis had to snap out of it, without Katsu's presence on the field, he could win, a demoralized team was the best thing you could hope for, of course, they could also regroup and play even harder.  
The game went on, with no one else stepping up to stop Davis and Ken, who easily scored 2 more times on their beleaguered goalie.  
The game was over, and Tai looked to his friends.  
Smiles on their faces, but eyes filled with sadness.  
There was no honor to a victory like this.  
They celebrated a bittersweet victory on the field, went over to the opposing team, bowed and thanked them for a great game, Davis went up to Katsu and extended his hand.  
Katsu smiled, shook it firmly, and whispered something.  
The players scattered. The fans began to leave.

"He didn't look too good, did he?" said Matt.

"We should say something to him" said Kari.

"I think you should talk to him, Tai" said T.K

Tai nodded, but said nothing.

They filed out, passing the others, and waited, until Davis and Ken came out, changed in their street clothes. They walked out as a group, happy to be together, a bit tired from the overall experience. They made their way to the parking lot where a large mob had gathered.  
Tai's phone rang and he hung back, as the rest went ahead.

"How was the game, Tai?"

"Not too bad, Renner, not too bad, I kinda like to think we can do this face to face one day..."

"Hmm...it's really not a good time for me right now, but I'll definitely take you up on that offer soon"

Tai smiled.

"Still looking for me?"

"Sure are"

"I really do hope we can get together soon, talk about the old days..."

"The old days...listen, Renner, I've got to go, don't forget to call"

"Take care of yourself, Tai"

Renner laughed and hung up.

Tai ran to catch up with his friends.

"What's going on, Kari?" he asked her, she shook his head, afraid.

He looked up to the crowd, walked over and gently moved Sora out of the way.

"What's going on, Matt?"

"These guys want trouble, Tai, I'm trying to defuse the situation"

"Defuse the situation?" Tai whispered, smiling, "let me give it a try"

"Gentleman, what's wrong, and how can I help you?" he now said out loud.

"Who the hell are you?" said of the men, they were 5 in total.

"I'm nobody, what I want to know, is why you hassling my man over here?"

"Your "man" there cost us the season, and somebody's got to take responsibility" he replied.

"The accident was not Davis' fault" said Matt, almost screaming.

Tai left the circle that had been forming for a while, it was 5 of them, Matt, Davis and Ken around a larger circle, all of them, curious to see what would take place.

"What's going on over there Tai?" asked Sora anxiously.

"Nothing, nothing, here" he replied, taking his suit jacket off, "mind taking care of that for me, and keep Kari and the others back here with you, cause it's about to get complicated..."

Before she could reply, he was gone, back in the fray.

"What's he doing, Sora, what did he say?" asked Izzy

Sora nodded, said, "guys, let's just trust him to do the right thing, hopefully"

Tai walked right back into the circle, completely convinced of what he had to do next.  
He pushed through the crowd and found Matt doing everything he could to stop this from getting out of hand, Tai, on the other hand, would do just the opposite.

"So you came back, huh, well, there's nothing you can do or say" said one of them, "this is going down, one way or the other"

"For the last time, we didn't do anything, so leave us alone" yelled Ken, with courage.

"OK, this guy gets it first" one of them said, to the left of Tai

"Stop, stop, stop!" he said, as he put himself between the two groups. His hands up, as if he were directing traffic.

"Matt" Tai said, with a low voice, "I want you to take Davis and Ken and go with Sora, and make sure absolutely nothing happens to my sister"

"Tai, I-"

"Please" said Tai as he cut him off, staring into his eyes, almost pleading "do as I wish"

Matt hesitated.

Tai was trusting him to carry this simple order. Their adventures in the digital world had been so long ago, but Matt still trusted their leader. At least, he thought he did.  
Matt nodded and grabbed the two younger boys. They tried to complain but one look from Matt and they conceded.  
Tai would deal with this.

"Are you guys sure about this?" he said, pausing.

"Looks like you're gonna take the fall for your friends" said the main one.

"You know, five against one ain't good odds" said another one

Tai rolled up his right hand sleeve, said, "you know, you're right. I just got this shirt"

He rolled up his left hand sleeve, neatly, patiently.

"It's expensive, silk, imported, all that jazz, and boy I hate to do this..."

He didn't finish his sentence. With a powerful kick to the ribs, he took out the one to his right, turned to his left. Before his opponent could sense what was coming, Tai stopped in his tracks with 2 right jabs in quick succession and delivered a left cross to knock him down.  
He went down, but he wasn't out, he'd get up.

_'Hmm...my left cross needs a little work, a bit rusty...'_

The big one came at him, with his hands in fists, ready to fight, looking like a boxer,

"I'm not so easy prey, friend"

Taichi smiled.

The big man came at him hard, a powerful haymaker to Taichi's left, he blocked it, just barely, and delivered a counter blow to his rib cage that caught him off guard. They began to circle each other as the group of people moved from their way.  
He took big, powerful swings, but he was off balance, he was not a boxer, but a brawler, and every time he swung at Tai, he missed and left his body terribly exposed.

_'Enough of this'_

Tai came in close, this guy wanted to fight like a brawler. He'd get a brawler.  
He went right for the body, left, right, left, right, each punch, breaking a rib, slowing him down, making it harder to breathe, he wouldn't get the chance to counter-attack.  
Without missing a beat, he switch sides, using left to attack his face from a distance, he made another careless mistake, already in pain, Tai took advantage once again, delivering a furious uppercut that sent the brute to the ground.  
He saw the fourth man, the one who had been talking, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade.  
Taichi smiled.  
He came at Tai, head on, an amateur mistake. Tai let it slide, he could see the frustration on the guys' face. He wasn't expecting a difficult fight. Again, he came at Tai, head on.  
Tai grabbed his wrist, twisted, and with his right hand, hit him with a debilitating body blow, and used his opponent's weight to flip him over in a spectacular fashion.  
There was silence.  
A few 'oohs', a few gasps. Tai heard nothing. Felt good. Like this was his purpose. To fight for those who couldn't.  
He stared at the last guy. Waiting. Hoping.

"Forget it, brother, they ain't worth it"

Tai nodded.

His last opponent walked away, and the crowd began to disperse.

His second opponent got up, charged at Tai.

Tai didn't turn around, didn't acknowledge him, he simply delivered a roundhouse kick right to the head.  
That was it. The fight was over as soon as it started.

"Pitiful" Taichi said to no one.

"Yeah" said a well dressed man that came from the crowd. They were almost all gone, a few stragglers who were loitering around.

"Nice fight" he went on to say.

"Thanks" said Tai, still focused on the men on the ground.

"You got a light?"

Tai smiled.

"I do, here" said Tai as he gave him a match.

"What, you don't recognize me no more?"

"They told me someone would get in touch with me, didn't think it would be you, Saejima"

The mystery man smiled.

"Let's talk business"

Tai nodded.

It was enough fighting for one night.

AN: There it is, so what happens next? Don't worry about that, everything is carefully planned, it's just a question of giving it a proper execution. Hope you enjoyed it. Take great care, readers and writers and I'll see you in a few weeks, but no more than a month. I'm on a tight schedule, after all...


	11. A Boxing Champion?

_Session__ 10 -A Boxing Champion?-__  
_

"**What ****can ****I ****get ****for ****you ****this ****evening****?" ****the ****waiter ****asked****.**

They stared at him, then back at the menu, then back at him.

"We're not quite ready yet" said Sora

"Can I get you something to drink then?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll have some tea" said Izzy

"I'll have a Coke" said Matt

"Ooh, me too" said Davis

Ken nodded, added,

"I'll take chocolate, if you've got it"

"Of course, sir"

At that moment, the doors opened. A figured came through the door, a man dressed in a white shirt, black pants, jet black hair and hetero-chromatic eyes.

Tai.

Wherever he had gone, he was now back.

After the scene in the parking lot, he had given them explicit instructions to meet him here, in part to celebrate Davis and Ken's victory, and to discuss what they had just witnessed. He didn't mean for them to see him like that.

They still didn't know what he did for a living, but now they had a few ideas.

Kari looked around the restaurant, moments before Tai arrived. It was a nice, quaint little place. Traditional, and yet, a modern touch permeated the decorum.

Tai called this place the _End __of __the __Line__._

That wasn't the name of the restaurant, he simply said it was a state of mind. None of them understood what he meant, he didn't give them a chance to ask.

She only had a glimpse of who her brother was, and she was so afraid to ask. She had to trust him, she had to believe he would tell her everything...eventually...

Kari gave a Sora a quick glance.

She was also worried, scared, concerned, and anything else Kari could think of. Next to Kari, Sora had been Tai's closest friend.

Kari dispelled all bad thoughts as she saw her brother come in, she was relieved he was alright, she was also genuinely happy to see him.

As he saw them once again, he smiled, and headed straight for them.

T.K smiled at him, and then got up, and put his right hand in his pocket.

Walked towards Tai.

A smile on his face, as Kari saw him take out a strange metallic object.

"Hello T.K, how are-" asked Tai, but T.K got to him before he could finish.

T.K swung high, hard and fast. He used both the weight and the momentum of his body to generate an impressive amount of force.

The end result was Tai on the floor, with blood all over his white shirt.

The waiter that had just left a while back, returned, startled, as was everyone at the tables nearby, with some people standing up to leave. No one wanted any trouble.

"Do you need any help, Tai?" he asked.

"Nah, Toshi, I"m all good" he replied as he stood up, slowly, then said, "hey, did they order?"

"They're a bit...reluctant"

"Well, get us the works then, put that on my tab, and may I have the key so I can go get changed?"

"Sure" he said, unfazed by what had just happened.

Taichi took the keys from him and left the room.

Toshi worked crowd control and soon got most of his patrons to return. The mood had relaxed, except for T.K, who remained standing.

Taichi hadn't cared. Didn't even addressed him. He just got up, and left. How could someone react like that? Toshi confirmed the order that Tai had placed and left for the kitchen. He returned with the drinks, and a bowl of ice cream that no one had ordered.

Tai returned, a fresh dress shirt, completely identical to the last one he had been wearing.

"Sora, do you have my jacket?" he asked, nonchalantly.

"Umm, yeah" she said, as she took the garment piece and returned it to its rightful owner.

He sat down with T.K next to him, and Kari to his right, unintentionally separating them.

"Cool, Toshi brought me the usual"

"You order ice cream first?" asked T.K who broke the silence that had struck the group as they watched Tai eat his mountain of ice cream, chocolate and strawberry with circus animal cookies mixed in.

"Not usually, just after someone sucker punches me for no freaking reason"

"You nearly slit my throat!"

"Aw come on, man, we both knew I wasn't gonna do it, it was a threat, sure, but an empty one"

"You what?!" the rest of the group yelled in unison.

Tai smiled

'_They __still __do __that__'_

Taichi smiled uneasily, took a big spoonful of ice cream, and said, mouth full

"I may have, kinda, nearly, accidentally, almost killed T.K, but he's ok now" he said, as he took another spoonful of ice cream.

Matt stood up, fist clenched.

Tai reacted, stood up just as fast, ready to respond,

"Sure you want to try your luck right now, Matt?"

"I wouldn't talk" said Toshi, as he brought the rest of the food "the bare knuckle boxing champion of his league gets knocked down by a freaking high schooler"

"You saw that?" asked Tai

"Yeah" he said, slowly smiling, "it was freaking glorious, kid, freaking glorious"

"Dude, he totally caught me off guard"

"Too bad the guys will never believe me"

He finished serving the food, explained the delicacies before them, and he departed.

Tai sat down, finished the ice cream as Matt still stood, waiting.

"Can you sit down, Matt, you're making everyone uncomfortable, besides, I remember how our last fight went" said Tai.

"We didn't' know you were a boxing champion" said Izzy

"Or that you knew how to box" said Kari, smiling.

"No one is fighting anyone, haven't we had enough violence for one night?" said Sora, turned to look to Matt, "Matt?"

"Yeah, you're right" he said, as he sat next to her, squeezing her hand gently in the process.

They ate in peace, as Tai sent a few messages on his strange device, a phone unlike anything they had ever seen.

"So it's gonna be like that, then?" he asked out loud, to no one in particular.

The rest of the group stared at each other, unsure of what to do. Izzy spoke up,

"Tai, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure, ask away"

"What do you do, exactly, and where did you learn to fight like that?"

The big question, the one everyone wanted to ask, but had been hesitant till now.

"Is this what everyone wants to know?" he asked with a smile.

They nodded, as Tai attempted to open a bottle of wine, ice cream and wine, a classic staple of his new diet.

"I'm a private contractor, a security consultant, I've got a contract with Faraday Industries right now, it's not a permanent gig, but it's pretty stable, I like the hours, and...they let me use explosives"

They remained silent.

"That last part is a joke, guys, lighten up" he said as he finally got the bottle opened.

"So, what is that, exactly?" asked Ken

"What's what?" replied Tai

"A security consultant?" asked Yolei, "what do they do?"

"A little bit of everything" replied Tai, "right now I'm working with them, we're trying to track someone down"

"That's it?" asked Matt, skeptically.

"I do paperwork from time to time, I deliver sensitive information, and I assist in their logistics department, not to mention, work my own leads" replied Tai.

"And you understand all that?" asked Izzy in disbelief

Tai smiled, nodded,

"Yeah, I"m not THAT dumb anymore" he said, smiling as he now drank some wine.

"But, you understand your job, you like what you do?" asked Sora.

"Of course" he replied, while he motioned for Toshi.

He came, moments later, asked,

"Yeah?"

"More ice cream"

Toshi looked at him, nodded, and left.

"So...where did you learn to fight?" asked Davis

"Here and there, I guess, I don't remember taking a class, or training for it, but I must have..."

"So, you're a boxing champion?" asked Matt, who became more interested in the conversation.

"Nah, that's just Toshi and everyone else, I haven't lost a fight, but I'm no champion"

"You fight regularly?" asked Davis

"Every month, they have a competition, I've won twice, no one's done it twice" said Tai, "doesn't mean I'm a champion"

"Who do you fight?" asked Sora

"I work with a couple of fellas that partake in the sport, big American guys, who hate to lose" he said, smiling to Kari, who was not at all pleased to hear that her brother was boxing in an underground league.

"So, what do you guys think?" he says as he continues to eat.

Silence. They said nothing, but Tai could read their faces. Some of them were okay with it, some of them disapproved. Tai couldn't care less, he wasn't there to get their approval, he was there to support Davis.

"Has it ever gotten dangerous?" asked Yolei, breaking the silence.

He smirks at her, making eye contact, the disparity of his eyes was too much for her, and she looked away.

"Well" he said, "yeah"...

"How" asked Ken.

"The other day, other night, we were talking to this chinese gangster who was trying to stiff us, he's up to no good" he said laughing wildly, "but he's cool, he's small potatoes, but, yeah, he's dangerous"

"Nice story, Tai" said Matt, smiling, "almost had me there"

"If you say so, buddy" he replied.

The night went on, as Tai told them the truth, a truth he knew they wouldn't believe. To them, he was simply an accountant. Someone who worked in private affairs.

One by one, they began to depart. Until it was just five of them, two couples and Tai.

The odd man out. Not that he minded one bit. It was a fascinating night for him, to observe them in their new social arrangement.

"So you...really did that?" asks T.K to Matt

"Yeah, I mean, it's wild, but that's show business, you know?"

Tai smiled, as he saw his friends talking like old times, despite all the alcohol he had consumed, he was in no way, shape or form, inebriated.

He smiled, lowered his head, and began to tap on the table, an imaginary song that no one else could hear, suddenly, he felt it, eyes on him.

Kari and T.K were listening to Matt's story about his days as a rock star, but Sora's attention was on him.

Watching him, taking him in.

She was an enigma. Once she had been his best friend, his confidant, and the source of his greatest joy. Greatest pain. All rolled up in one. She was something. Still was..

He lifted his head up, eyes closed, song still playing, getting to the climax.

"Tai?"

He didn't hear her. Still lost in thought.

"Tai?"

"Yeah?"

She smiled,

"You alright?" she said, almost laughing.

"Yeah" he said, in a serious manner, he opened his eyes. Stared at her. She returned his gaze. Her smile disappeared.

Now there was nothing. She was simply someone else. Someone who had been important in another life.

"Matt?" he said, breaking their game.

Now the table was silent.

"Yeah, Tai?"

"Let's talk outside"

Matt turned to look at the others, his stare lingered when he turned to look at Sora. Was he looking for a sign of approval, a signal devised by the two of them, what was it?  
Tai wondered. He watched them, in the few seconds that it took Matt to answer.

"Yeah" he said with a smile, as he followed Tai who had already gotten up and was heading for the door. He looked back at Sora.

'_Be __careful__' _

That's what Sora was trying to say to Matt, but of course, Tai had already figured that out.

The doors to the restaurant closed behind both of them, off in the distance, the lights of Odaiba, dispersed by the odd weather around this time of year.

Matt was jumpy, a bit paranoid.

He had every reason to be, if his friend had been unpredictable before, there was no way to read him now.

"What's up, Tai?"

"That's what I want to know, Matt" he said as he turned around to face him.

Tai was bigger, he had more presence, and Matt suspected it helped in his day to day operations. Whatever those were.

"What are you talking about, Tai?" he asked, smiling

"Sora tells me you're not doing too well, your job's stressful and it's not enough"

Matt didn't say anything, stopped smiling.

He shook his head,

"You got it all wrong, pal, I'm doing alright"

Tai shooked his head,

"I'm not buying it, and I appreciate it if you didn't treat me like a fool, Matt, or are you calling Sora a liar"

"I'm not doing anything, Tai"

"So that's how it is" said Tai, smiling

Matt stood beside him, so as to not face him.

"Sora didn't tell you anything, I don't know what you heard, but it didn't come from her, she wouldn't betray our trust" he said sternly.

"Hope you're right about that"

"Are you trying to say you don't trust Sora?" asked Matt, almost whispering.

"I really don't..." replied Tai, "but that's besides the point"

Tai's answer had taken him aback.

Tai not trusting Sora. To Matt, that was a shocker and he stared at him, at the man he had become. A former shadow of his best friend. He looked away, as the conversation had taken a turn. Tai not trusting Sora, he never thought he'd hear those words.

Now here they stood. Two former best friends. A bright star in the field of rock and roll who had burnt out when the pressure had gotten to him. In Tai's case, he was never given the chance to shine, he was gone before they even realized what they had lost. Tai's phone began to vibrate as he picked up, gestured to Matt that he needed to take the call.

Matt nodded, as Tai walked a few feet for privacy.

A feeling of dread overcame Matt as he watched Tai talk on the phone from a distance. Things were worse than he could have imagined. Matt was still lost in his thoughts when Tai returned from his call

"Everything ok, Matt?" he asked with a smile on his face.

Matt nodded,

"Yeah I'm good, I'm good, what do you want, Tai?"

"I want the truth"

"You don't trust Sora...do you trust anyone?" he said out of the blue...

Tai's smile disappeared. He sighed, got closer as he put his arm around his neck, pulled him in close.

"You know I don't, Matt, why are you asking questions to which you already know the answers?"

Matt ignored his cryptic remarks. It was Tai's way of avoiding the hard questions.

"The truth is..." Matt began, "Things are not as great as I'd like them to be, but I can't complain, I've got my family, my friends, Sora, and my health"

"You're a rich man, Mr. Ishida" he said, as they both laughed, with Tai letting him go.

There was silence, it was brief, but it was a clear indicator of the situation between them.

"How'd you like to come work for me, well, for us?"

"For you? Doing what, working with chinese gangsters, doing paperwork, dealing with shady cops, I've got to say Tai, you may have the others convinced with your story, but I'm not buying it"

"All the more reason you should see it for yourself, you wouldn't be working for me, or even with me, it's a private enterprise, you see, we need drivers, people to chauffeur important personnel around, that's all"

"Like a limo thing?"

"Slightly better salary, no stupid uniform, and you'd receive other perks"

"I don't know Tai"

"Come on, man, we both know you need it, Sora may not have said anything, but I know you need it Matt, for once in your life, be reasonable, think about all the things you could do with the extra cash, you could take her out on a real date, with fancy french waiters and all that other crap"

"Fancy french waiters?"

"Really, that's all you got from that?" Tai said, laughing, "you really don't believe that's what I do for a living?"

"You were doing so well until you threw in the part with the chinese gangster"

"That really happened" Tai retorted

Matt smiled, as things seemed to lighten up.

"That is my job, I'm a consultant" said Tai, as he grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled them forward in silly effort to appear important.

"I don't know, Tai"

"Matt, you need this, so just shut up, take the job, take the money, and help yourself out"

Matt said nothing to this. There was something Tai wasn't telling him, he was holding out, and Matt knew it.

"All I've got to do is drive?"

"Yeah, that's all you got to do, it's a great gig, those guys owe me, and I owe you, everybody wins"

Matt stayed silent. Tai saw that he was thinking about it.

Matt sighed,

"I'll think about it" he said

"Alright" said Tai, "look, talk to your girl, get her take on it and give me a ring, but do it quickly, cause this is a limited time offer" he said smiling.

"My girl, she ain't my girl, Tai, I didn't win her or steal her or anything, she made her choice"

Tai cleared his throat, reached into his pocket, pulled out a stuffed manila envelope.

"Here"

"What's this?"

"Just take it, call it a belated apology"

"What is it?" asked Matt, as he opened the envelope. and saw the money.

"Its money, it's the best gift to get someone on a short notice" he said, smiling, big old goofy smile.

Matt nodded,

"I can't take this, how much is it?" a look of worry. A gulp.

"It's about 100, 150 thousand yen" replied Tai, "I don't usually deal with Yen, but it's no big deal"

"Whoa, no, Tai, NO, there is no way I'm taking this money" said Matt angry

"Not even if I put a gun to your head?" asked Tai, his smile gone, his arms crossed.

Matt was silent. No longer angry, but a little hesitant.

Could Tai actually do something like that? Would he?

Tai nodded. A silent agreement.

"Where did you-"

"It's my money, it's not stolen, and I've got a lot more where that came from" Tai said, interrupting.

"You're really gonna put a gun to my head if I say no?"

"Well, I don't want to" said Tai smiling, "but I will, if I have to"

"Wonder what else you've done cause you have to"

"You've got no idea, pal" he said, still smiling.

Again, more silence. It seems that they still understood each other, even without speaking.

"Hey man..." Matt trailed off, as he saw the others come out of the restaurant.

"What?" Tai said, softly, almost whispering.

"Why, dude?"

"No reason, consider it an apology, for not being there, for being an ass, take your pick"

"You've got to work on what you told me" said Matt

"What did he tell you?" asked Sora as they finally reached them.

"Something dirty, I"ll tell you later" he said as he smiled, and gave her a peck on the cheek. Strange of Matt to say something like that to Sora, but she paid no attention to it. Still, something was wrong.

"Toshi said they were closing, something about how we didn't' have to go home, but we couldn't stay there" said Kari.

"And the bill?" inquired Matt

"Oh, Toshi said something about Tai taking care of it" replied T.K

"Wow, Tai that place-"

"It's already taken care of, no worries, mate" said Tai as he winked at Matt.

"Are you sure, Tai, we can help you out, I mean-" said Sora

"I'm sure, it's no big deal, and we didn't even eat that much" said Tai

"Speak for yourself, Davis ate enough to fill up a truck" said Kari, as they all laughed.

They went their separate ways, with Matt, Sora and T.K in one car, and Tai and Kari on the motorcycle. The ride was quick, but Tai could feel as Kari hugged him tighter, she was enjoying the ride. As they parked inside, she got off the bike and took out her phone.

Ran inside. Didn't even realize she had left Tai all alone.

'_Off __to __text __T__.__K__, __that__'__s __young __love __if __I __ever __saw __it__' _thought Tai, smiling.

He really had no problem with it.

He grabbed the helmet, and went after her.

Matt and Sora drove through the streets of Odaiba in complete silence. She was so eager to ask him what Tai had told him. Why they had spent all that time outside in the cold. Instead, she held her tongue. Matt had been distant with her ever since they all found out Tai had returned. When he got to her place, he pulled in the parking structure instead of dropping her off at the door. He found an empty spot and parked there. Turned off the car. He turned to look at her. Even in the darkness, she was extremely beautiful. Her glowing red orbs stared at him, hoping, waiting for him to come out of his shell. She looked at him in the light, his ice blue eyes, and expertly combed hair. His shirt peeking out his jacket. He was a bundle of uncertainty. Whatever Tai had told him had certainly upset him, a fact she could clearly see on his face. She couldn't wait anymore.

"Matt, look at me" she told him

He looked at her, looked away.

She looked away, not wanting to show him the sadness in her face.

"What's wrong" a near whispered from Sora.

"Nothing is wrong" answered Matt, "Tai wanted to know about us" he said dryly, trying to show no emotion.

"Us?"

"At least I think he did, he told me about a job opportunity, asked me if I was interested"

"What did you say?"

"I said I'd think about it", he then added, "Sora, Tai's dangerous"

"What?" she said smiling, but it was no joke to him.

"He gave me this" he said, as he took out the manila envelope.

"What's this?"

"It's cash, he says it's about 100, 150 thousand yen"

"What, why?" she asked, skeptical

"He wasn't clear, but, Sora, he's dangerous"

"Cause of the parking lot thing, come on, Matt, you know he's not dangerous"

"You weren't there"

"I absolutely was there, I saw the whole thing, just like you did" she said, getting riled up.

"Did you?" he asked, his voice a little louder than he'd like.

She said nothing, looked away. The shadows were playing with their eyes.  
A light was flickering in the garage, and every time the light went off, he lost sight of her.

"Cause what I saw, I saw a man who enjoyed himself"

"He enjoyed himself?" she asked, already lost in what Matt was trying to say.

"He took those guys down with no hesitation, no remorse, it was cold, mechanical, and completely calculated"

She said nothing.

"Does that sound like Tai to you?" he asked.

She sighed, with her head, down,

"No, but that's just the thing, Matt" she replied, "that's not the Tai we used to know, this guy is different, he's...older, mature"

Mat was about to say something, but closed his mouth, she wasn't done and he knew it.

"It was bound to happen at some point, why are we so surprised that it's happening right now?"

"Sora, are you listening to me?" he asked, with the lights flickering in the background.

She nodded, smiled weakly.

"Look, there were elements of Tai's story that were..." he said, trailing off...

"What? It's alright to say you didn't believe him, Matt, I won't disagree with you, I know this whole thing is stressful, believe me, but we'll get by, and he only wants the best for us"

"You really think so?" he asked.

"Yeah" said, smiled, and leaned in closer for a kiss. He kissed her back, and momentarily forgot about his worries.

"So...you really think he's mature now?" he asked.

"Only a little" she said smiling

"Well, what about the gangster thing?"

"It sounds a little ridiculous, even for Tai, besides, you know what they say, truth is stranger than fiction"

"You believe it?"

She shrugged her shoulders. It wasn't important.

She got out of the car and he followed suit. They started walking towards the lobby doors.

"So..."

"So..." he repeated, unsure of what she meant.

"The job?"

"Oh, the job, well...how hard can it be?" he said

"Call him, tell him you're in, bet he'll love that" she said, a big smile on her face as she saw him ease up.

Whatever was bugging him was gone for the moment, yet she still felt uneasy.

He picked up his phone. Looked up Tai and pressed the call button.

It rang twice, before someone answered.

"Tai?"

"Who's this?"

"It's Matt"

"Didn't recognize you there, buddy, what's up, you in some sort of trouble?"

"Nah, nah, about the job..."

"Yeah?"

"I'll take it"

Tai said nothing, sucked on his teeth as loudly as he could over the phone.

"Are you sure?"

"Uh, yeah, pretty sure"

"You don't sound sure, mate, Sora, are you there?"

Sora smiled as she could hear the whole conversation and Matt passed the phone over to his girlfriend.

"Hi, Tai"

"I want you to take a good look at your man, tell me, what's wrong with him?" he asked, talking with his mouth full.

She smiled, said,

"There's nothing wrong with him, Tai, what did you tell him earlier today?"

Tai swallowed his food, said,

"I had an argument with him about you, I said you looked fat, naturally he took offense to that, things like that" he said, a big goofy smile on his face, not that anyone could see.

She smiled, replied,

"Liar"

"Look, tell him I'll call him tomorrow to talk about the details..."

"When do I start?" asked Matt out loud...

"When does he start?" she asked

"Tomorrow" he said, "bright and early, so tell him to get some sleep, he's gonna need it"

"Hey, Tai?"

"Yeah?" he said, matching her soft tone of voice

"Are you _eating _right now?"

"Yeah, I'm hungry"

"Is there ever a time you're NOT eating?" she said, giggling...

"Nope" he said, "Good night, Sora"

She gave the phone back to Matt.

"Tai?"

"Yeah?"

"Good night" he said, with some hesitation.

"I will work on it, ok, but some wounds take longer to heal, hope you understand, see ya tomorrow"

"Yeah" said Matt.

Hung up.

They were standing in front of the lobby doors, and the night was getting colder. Matt turned around, when Sora stopped him, grabbing him by the hand.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just... come up stairs"

He smiled. Nodded.

She led the way, never letting go of his hand, fearing deep down on the inside, she was slowly losing him.

Tai stared at his phone, a rectangular device, entirely made up of a highly sensitive multitouch screen, no buttons whatsoever. A strange device, but he had already gotten used to it. The lighting in his room was dim, with only his desk lamp on, he had a few books scattered about, folders, and paperwork and a few syringes of an experimental drug he was looking into. The room, just like his desk, was a mess, Tai sat in his chair, staring at a finely crafted, incredibly detailed black rectangular wooden box. He picked the box he had been given earlier that week. Opened it slowly.

A matte black Walther PPK/S with 5 empty magazines just beneath it, neatly placed in foam, customized to keep its elements in place. An odd sidearm for a man his size. The time for preliminaries had come and gone. His real mission was about to start.


	12. Gigs part 1

**GIGS****PART****ONE**

He was still asleep when he began to feel it, that fear he hadn't felt in a long time. He escaped the realm of his dreams before things took a turn for the worst, but he didn't feel any better. It had been no dream, and there was no way to run.

Matt Ishida had simply woken up. At his side, to his left, Sora Takenouchi was wrapped in his arms, and as turned to look at her, she moaned, a sign that she was no longer asleep.

"What time is it?" she asked, not entirely awake.

"Its about to be 6 a.m, the sun's out already"

He got no response. She was asleep again. He smiled and lightly squeezed her, making her moan once again.

He stared at the ceiling for what seemed to be infinity, but his thought process was quickly shattered by the silent vibrations of his cell phone. He reached for it, without waking Sora up.

"Hello?" he asked groggily.

"Rise and shine, Matt, it's a brand new day" said Tai, in his new calm and collected demeanor.

"What time is it?"

"Time's not important, my friend, only life is important"he said laughing, a little louder than Matt liked.

"Ugh, what?"

"You're no fun in the day time, Ishida" replied Tai.

"Why are you calling me so early?"

"You start today, I need to get you up to speed on our operations, make sure things go smoothly for you, plus I've got a lot on my plate today, so we can't waste the light"

"Right, I've nearly forgotten about that" said Matt, an uneasy smile on his face considering he hadn't slept well because of it.

"Are you well rested?"

"Of course" he replied. Another lie. Sora was now awake and fully alert, listening to their exchange.Still she didn't let on she was awake, if there really was something that was bothering Matt, maybe he would express it now.

"I sure hope so, one thing's for sure, if you didn't sleep well last night, tonight will be a different story, I guarantee it"

"Right"

"Get dressed, Ishida, it's time to reclaim our rightful place in this world"

"Huh?"

"I'm outside, so don't take forever"

"Tai, I'm...not at my place"

"I never said I was at your place, I just said I was outside" he replied.

"How do you-"

"The less time you spend asking me questions, the faster you can get dressed, as a bonus, I got you breakfast"

"Is that right?" he said mockingly

"Chop-chop, Matty" he retorted. Hung up.

Matt hated that stupid nickname. Not that anyone, except Tai, ever called him that.

"Babe" he whispered softly, "Sora..."

"I know" she replied, a big smile on her face.

"Did you hear the whole thing?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I know you've got to go, I might as well take off too, I need to go get fresh clothes, got the early shift today" she said, as she left their embrace and began to pick up her clothes from the floor.

"You want to shower first?" he asked, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Nah, Tai's waiting for you, you don't want to be late for your first day" she said, smiling.

"Tai can wait"

"Play nice with Tai, remember, he's doing this to help you out, plus, you said he was dangerous" she said, as she got back into her jeans, and put on her black shirt, buttoning up till she hit the collar.

"You still don't believe me?"

"He's a little unhinged, but his job is somewhat stressful, so it's not out of the ordinary for him to act...differently"

"You don't believe me" he said a little disappointed.

"Whether Tai is dangerous or not, be lucky he's on our side and we can trust him"

'We can trust him, pretty sure we can't say that about him' thought Matt.

He nodded, no reason to get in argument with Sora over Tai.

They've had enough of those over the years. His return had been something out of this world, and yet, it hadn't made the news. There was no one trying to interview him. There was something odd about how the whole thing had been low-key. A survivor of JCS? It sounded like front-line news, the kind of thing that's reported all over the world. He would ask Tai. The little details surrounding Tai's return had bothered him for far too long.

"Matt..." a voice in the distance.

If Tai had really died, how did he return to the land of the living?

If he didn't die, where had he been for the last four years, and why did he keep them in the dark?

These questions would be answered today, there was no doubt about it in Matt's mind.

"Matt..."

He never believed Tai's story. His "amnesia" was too convenient. Tai was hiding something from them.

"Matt!"

He was startled by Sora's sudden outburst.

"Yeah?"

"Are you OK? Are you sure you're OK about this, I know you're not entirely sold on the idea of working with Tai-"

"I'm alright, Sora, you don't have to worry so much about me" said Matt laughing.

She looked at him.

"I'm gonna go, be careful, ok, umm, expect the unexpected" she said as she bent down to kiss.

He was still sitting down on his bed as he saw her leave.

At her speed, she quickly made her way down to the lobby, out the doors, and right into Tai, who was waiting for Matt in a car. A make and model she'd never seen.

Tai's gaze was fixed on an object in the distance, but she couldn't make out anything in the fog.

She lightly tapped on the passenger window, breaking his concentration, but not really startling him.

"Good morning, Sora" he said as he rolled down the window, "want to come in?"

She hesitated, but acquiesced. The inside was all leather, and the windows were tinted, a fact she hadn't really picked up on until she sat inside.

"It's nice in here, not cold like it is out there" she said, somewhat uncomfortably.

"Yeah, the fog plays tricks on you, could've have sworn I saw something moving in the distance"

"Tai?"

"What is it, Sora?" he turned to look at her as he spoke, and she got a clear look at his eyes, they were the same chocolate brown eyes she remembered. She looked at all his features in greater detail, he didn't look anything like he did last night. His skin was tanned, relaxed, not at all pale or fair. His hair was brown, not jet black, and his eyes. It was those chocolate orbs that really captivated her. Perhaps a little too well, for she found herself mesmerized by them. It was becoming difficult for her to pull away.

Tai cleared his throat, said,

"Sora, are you alright?"

"You look different" she said, as she started to blush, Tai had caught her staring, and he was relishing every moment of it. He smiled, said,

"Yeah, I like the new look, but you can't beat the classics" he said laughing.

Now she felt uneasy. Her gaze had remained too long on his face. She must have looked like a fool in front of him. She started to curse herself on the inside for letting her guard down, but decided to do something else.

"Tai, I-"

"Yeah?"

"Umm, how did you know Matt was here?" she asked.

Tai smiled.

"I put a tracking device on him a few days back, I know where he is at all times"

Her mouth opened, as if to say something, but he quickly interrupted her.

"I'm just kidding, Sora, that sounds insane, right? Wouldn't it be cool if I could do something like that?"

"Hmm, yeah" she said smiling, feeling a little silly.

"Nah, I went to his house first, but didn't see the car, naturally, I came here first, and spotted the car in the parking garage, figured he stayed the night, and since I didn't want to wake you guys too early... I waited"

"Oh, that actually makes sense" she replied, "that's very clever of you, Tai"

"Well, thanks, I guess, I wouldn't be very good at my job if I couldn't find someone like Matt, let alone real bad guys"

"Real bad guys? Tai, do you really do what you said you did?"

He smiled, nodded, then he said,

"It's a little hard to believe, I know, but I really do what I said I do, why do you find it so hard to believe?"

"It's not me, it's..."

"I know" he said, smiling, added, "it's alright, he'll find out sooner or later, besides, it's to be expected, things are uneasy between us"

"Tai, don't-"

"It's true, Sora, there's nothing wrong with admitting there's a little hostility there, it's only natural, things between all of us aren't too great, but the chasm between the three of us is much greater, I realize that, and I'm pretty sure he does too, but we're gonna work on that ok, slowly but surely"

"Chasm?" she said, laughing.

"Really? That's all you heard from that?" he said laughing as he pushed her to the side.

All she did was laugh harder, infecting Tai with her attitude.

They were both laughing as Matt opened the driver's side door, which to his surprise, was on the left.

Tai looked up, and slowly stopped laughing. Sora smiled as she saw her boyfriend all ready for his new job.

"Nice jacket, are you going to school or something?" asked Tai as he saw Matt wearing a green blazer.

"Me? What about you? You going to a funeral with that get-up?" retorted Matt as Tai was dressed entirely in black, Matt added,

"Come on, man, let me in"

Tai got out of the car, pulled the chair forward and let Matt sit in the back seat.

"What kind of car is this, Tai?"

"It's a 1970 Dodge Challenger, so I'm told, I'm not really a car guy" he told Matt

"Yeah, right" muttered Matt under his breath.

"So, where do we go, guys, how about we hop on a plane and head for a resort in Okinawa?"

"I'm down if you are, Tai" said Matt

"Now we have to go" said Sora giggling.

"All right" he started the car, and it must have surprised Matt and Sora as they both jumped back. All Tai did was laugh as he drove to Sora's house.

A few minutes later, with Sora gone, having said good bye to her two favorite boys, her boyfriend and former best friend, Matt sat in front, in the now vacant spot.

Tai drove out of Odaiba, crossed Rainbow Bridge into the heart of Tokyo.

There was silence as he drove, and Matt could tell they were making an impression on everyone on the road, as heads began to turn to take in this strange American beast he now found himself in.

Tai motioned to a sandwich in the glove compartment and Matt waved it off, he wasn't hungry.

Tai cared very little about what others thought of his actions.

He had already proven that.

Matt spoke,

"So, details, what's the job, who do I work for, and what does it entail?"

"Entail?" Tai repeated, "OK, the job is simple, you'll function as a small but integral part of a clandestine transportation network, designed to move VIPs, senior officials and anyone or anything we deem important"

"O...K" said Matt

"It's really simple, Matt, don't overthink it, as to who you work for, you work for the conglomerate known as Faraday Industries, although, you won't be able to claim that, it's all sort of complicated"

"So this thing is sort of like, a secret job?"

"No, nothing like that, think of it like this, you're an unofficial part of one of the world's largest corporations, now, why they need to do things like this, that I can't tell you, cause, I honestly don't know" he said smiling.

"I'm liking this more and more and more" he said, not too happy about the whole thing.

"Just relax, and follow my lead, oh, and don't piss these guys off"

"Why would I do something like that?" Matt replied

"Just...don't, all right?" retorted Tai.

"They made a right and pulled into a large parking structure, the type normally used for hospitals or large financial corporations. Tai drove all the way to the top level of the structure and parked at one of the corners.

"Open the glove compartment, and give me what you find inside the wooden box" Tai told Matt.

Matt pressed the button on the compartment and it slowly opened up, revealing a black rectangular wooden box. He opened it, quickly looked inside.

"What's wrong, Matt?"

"Tai, there's a gun in here" replied Matt, trying to control his voice, he cleared his throat, said,

"Why do you need a gun, Tai?"

"Cause the kind of job I do requires a gun" he replied, completely deadpan.

Matt held on to the wooden box, curious to open it once again.

"Go ahead" said Tai, "I know you want to"

Matt opened the box, and examined the gun. It was small, it probably couldn't fire too many bullets, yet it seemed appropriate for someone like Tai.

Someone like Tai. Who was Tai, and what was he really involved in?

No time to think, only to act.

Matt closed the box again, this time giving it to Tai, who removed the gun from the black foam which held it in place, he grabbed a magazine from the aforementioned box, he slid the magazine into the gun, pulled back on the slide to chamber a round and put the safety on.

One smooth motion. He'd done this before.

Matt couldn't keep his eyes off him.

"Matt"

Matt said nothing. He couldn't move. He didn't want to.

"Matt"

Tai had been telling him the truth. Tai grabbed him with his right hand by the shoulder, shook him,

"Matt, are we good?"

"Yeah" he said, nodding, now a little afraid of what was in store for him. Would he need something like that? What kind of organization did Tai work for?

"Follow me"

Tai pressed the button where the key should be, the car quickly responded,its powerful engine quickly purring down. He got out of the car, with Matt close behind.

In the distance, Matt spotted three large men, all dressed in suits, who were leaning on a black BMW that was parked in the same garage. They stopped leaning and began to walk towards the duo.

"Matt, be cool, ok?" said Tai, as he took out his phone.

The phone quickly scanned their faces and identified them as friendlies, referring to them as members of Bravo Company.

The one to the right quickly mimicked Tai's motion.

'I guess that's normal, something they have to do' thought Matt.

"Mr. Kamiya" said the one in the middle

"Carlos" replied Tai, "you are Carlos this week, are you not?"

Carlos, an older gentleman of hispanic accent smiled. His suit, a dark shade of green, was immaculate. It was also bulky, perfect for someone who wanted to hide something rather large.

He was clean shaven and in good shape. The other two were much younger, but in similar shape.

"Is this the guy?" said the one with the phone. An odd fellow. He was wearing a gold tie clip, red tie, white shirt, black suit. Odd fellow.

"Yeah" responded Tai, as he looked at Matt from head to toe, asked, "what's wrong with him?"

"He looks like a japanese pop star" he replied as the other two laughed at his remark.

Taichi smiled, said,

"He was a pop star, fool, now he's one of us, except he's a civilian contractor" replied Taichi.

"A civilian?" said the other one. He was wearing a brown fitted suit. He had no accent, but still looked of hispanic accent. They seemed out of place in a country like Japan.

"I don't like civilian contractors, Tai, they're...troublesome" replied Carlos

"I realize it's unusual, but we can use him, and I'll take full responsibility, just in case something happens"

"Alpha won't be pleased, sir" said the one with no accent

"What do you think, Martin?" said Carlos, asking the one with the tie clip.

"The pop-star look's got to go, but if Tai says he can drive, and he's discreet about it, I don't have a problem"

He turned around to the other one, the one with no accent. He smiled, and nodded. There was nothing else left to be said.

Carlos nodded back.

'Am I really getting the job, just like that, no interview, no questions?' thought Matt.

"All right, Matt, I'm gonna go, Carlos here will walk you through the rest of your day, and if you've got any issues at all, give me a call, I won't be too far from your location, take care, brother" said Tai, and walked away, back to his car. Leaving Matt with his new employers and completely in the dark about where to go next.

"What's your name?" inquired Carlos.

"I'm Matt, Matt Ishida"

"Alright, Matt, I'm gonna make a few assumptions about you" said Carlos as the other two went in the opposite direction, leaving Carlos and Matt alone. Carlos began to walk, and motioned for Matt to follow him.

"You've never done this before, you've no idea what a civilian contractor is, and you're still doubting yourself as to whether we carry guns for our safety or for... other purposes"

"You took the words right out of my mouth, sir" said Matt, a smile on his face.

Carlos smiled. He liked this kid. Put his arm around him, said,

"You are now a part of a clandestine network that's designed to rapidly mobilize hundreds of people at any given time, your job is to get these people from Point A to Point B, by any means necessary, what we do isn't exactly kosher, but it's a necessary evil, I'm sure that Tai's explained to you that some of our clients are less than reputable"

"Less than reputable?" asked Matt

"Yeah, nothing in this world is black and white, kid, but you don't have to worry about that, most of the time, you won't be talking to any of your passengers, in fact, we would prefer it if you didn't get to know any of the people that get in your car at any given time"

"O...K, kind of an unusual request but I can dig it"

"This is your car" said Carlos as they stopped in front of a white Mercedes Benz E Class.

"This is my car?"

"Well, this is the automobile you'll be driving most of the time, sometimes you'll be driving other vehicles for your safety and the safety of your passengers"

"Wait, you mean to tell me, you don't care at all that I've never done something like this?" Matt asked, a look of bewilderment on his face.

"Tai says you can drive...and we tend to trust him around these parts, he's the kind of person we take at his word"

"Just like that?"

"Just like that" said Carlos, "here are the keys" and gave him an electronic key, "We request that you do not damage it too much, we know that 'incidents' will happen but as long as the car can make it back here, we're all square, questions?"

"Umm..."

"Oh, one more thing, inside the car is your mobile device, whatever happens, under no circumstances are you to lose your mobile device, it would be...unpleasant"

"Got it, don't lose my phone" said Matt.

"OK kid, that's pretty much it" and with those words, Carlos got into his car and drove away.

Matt pressed the unlock button on his key and the car's lights flashed. He opened the door and got inside. The leather was cool and comfortable. He closed the door and saw the mobile device on the passenger seat. As he picked it up, the glass screen on it immediately lit up and he saw himself on it, it quickly scanned his face and unlocked, revealing a strange OS. The device was unlike anything he'd ever seen, made entirely of glass possessing no buttons. He'd seen Tai with one, but had refrained from asking him where he'd gotten it or what it did. Now he had one. It was a touchscreen device, as he quickly discovered it's functions. The phone rang and he pressed the green button.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Ishida, you are to drive to Narita International Airport and wait for a woman named Alice. You are not to speak to her unless spoken to first, the device will direct you where to go and what to do, if you require assistance, don't hesitate to ask for it" a female voice said.

The screen switched to a aerial view of the city that resembled a GPS. It was a GPS.

'How is she going to recognize me?

The answer didn't matter. He pressed the ON button on his car and as the car purred on, he quickly drove away, his first of many fares.


End file.
